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The Bee from Fantasy Studies Op. 13 Rowley Grade 2 ABRSM 2007 – 2008
The ABRSM Teaching Notes for 2007 – 2008 state ‘in this delightful piece, with its gently buzzing figuration shared between the hands, one can readily imagine a bee travelling from flower to flower in search of pollen. Although it is a cleverly disguised study for developing evenness of finger work, the piece should have an unhurried tempo – suggesting a warm sunny day in which any movement quivers almost imperceptibly’.
Character/story of the piece – clearly the title is the starting point for the interpretation for this piece. The player could think of themselves standing in a garden prior to the bee flying close by. The piece starts a little abruptly which possibly indicates that the bee has arrived at the garden unexpectedly. The player should consider how the different melodic patterns relate to what the bee is doing. For example, in bars 1 – 3 the bee is looking for a flower to take nectar from. In bar 4, the bee has landed on the flower and is taking the nectar. Then, in bars 9 – 12 the bee is flying around, and in bars 13 – 16 again, the bee is moving from flower to flower as it collects nectar. In the final bars the bee lands on flowers without removing any nectar before flying away/
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Form – this piece is basically a character piece in binary form. Although there are only a few melodic patterns overall, the composer exploits these to create interest and variety. The key of the piece is G major and by the end of the second phrase, the piece is in E minor. The third phrase commences in G major and at the end of the first section, the fourth phrase reinforces the dominant of G major. The second section begins in G major, and as the first section, the following phrase is in E minor. From there, the music returns to G major. Even considering the keys the composer uses, the music has at times, a slightly unsettled feeling key-wise.
Main part of the music – this should occur in bar 29, at a fortissimo level, which is a little louder than what Rowley has suggested. The reason for this, the player will need to have a reasonably loud dynamic at the start of bar 17 and the dynamic level at bar 29 will need to be a little louder. Nevertheless, the dynamics used in this piece should not be too loud, there should be a feeling of restraint considering the music is about a bee.
Phrasing – up until bar 24, the phrases are four bars long and each set of two phrases complement each other. However, the penultimate phrase is extended by one bar before the final phrase of four bars.
Tempo, time signature and rhythmic patterns – the footnotes suggest and tempo of 63 dotted crotchet beats per minute. This advice should be followed; the composer’s suggestion is too fast because the music should have a feeling of energy and momentum without a sense of frenzy. And of course, conversely, too slow a tempo would not convey the flight and movements of the bee. It is interesting that Rowley has suggested a tempo using the dotted crotchet rather than a quaver beat. Possibly this piece is more compound in character rather than simple. The rhythmic patterns in this piece may be the player’s first exposure to compound type rhythms. There should be no feeling of accent, for example on the first semiquaver in the quaver and four semiquaver patterns. This is also true of the RH rhythmic pattern in bar 10.
Touch/Articulation – contrast can be provided in this piece with the legato patterns played with energy and nimbleness, as if the touch is slightly legato within the slur. Some players may find it difficult to play these patterns with evenness. Equally curved fingers and the saying of the time names in the head will help maintain the evenness required. The player should practise these patterns and a hard surface such as the lid of the piano ensuring that the sounds are even and regulated. The notes that are played with the thumb could potentially be played too loud in comparison with the other notes. Even though Rowley has not shown staccato on the LH patterns in bars 1 – 12 and bars 25 – 28, they should be played in that manner. A slightly stronger emphasis should be placed on the first beat of the bar. The application of staccato also applies to the RH in bars 17 – 24. There is a danger that the player may not play the staccato notes equally, in some cases the last note of the pattern could be held too long or even joined to the following note. The composer has applied slur markings throughout the piece, and these must be strictly observed. The lift in the RH at the beginning of bar 3 for example should be shown clearly with the player lifting with their finger in contact with the key.
Balance between the hands – this is an area where the player can provide contrast and interest for the listener. For the first three phrases the balance should be to the RH however this does not mean that the LH should not play a significant role. However, in the following phrase the balance should be to the LH although the RH’s chords play an important role too. Following this, the roles change with the LH taking the balance before it returns to the RH in bar 25.
Dynamics – as stated before, the dynamics, even when loud should convey a sense of restraint and delicacy. Rowley has provided several dynamic suggestions as well as gradations of dynamics. Whenever a melodic pattern is repeated, a change in the dynamics will provide interest for the listener.
Agogic features – small touches of rubato are appropriate for the character of the piece. However, to a certain extent Rowley has written some easing of the tempo by using rests and ‘slowing’ the music down using quavers instead of semiquavers. Any easing of tempo, except for the ending, should be balanced using touches of accelerando. The player must be careful at the end that any easing of the tempo does not distort the triplet pattern in the penultimate bar.
Considerations when playing this piece –
· The accompaniment is maintaining the beat.
· There is a danger that the third beat staccato note is held too long.
· There are occasions where the hands ‘blend’ together.
· The LH in bar 20 must be held for its full length.
· There are gestures involved with the lifts and staccato notes.
· The rests are very important, these need to be properly acknowledged.
· The single melodic lines must have momentum and a rhythmic feel.
· The thumb must play, in most cases, quietly.
· In bars 13 – 15 the top notes in the RH should be highlighted. This is also the case for the RH in bars 29, 31 and 33.
Trinity College of Music Date: 4 December 1924 Catalogue ref: TCM 6/6 Description: Concert programme for student concert at Steinway Hall, Wigmore Street, 4 December 1924. This is the earliest concert programme in the archives of Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban).
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From owner’s personal ephemera collection.