César Franck

4 Pièces Brèves

These charming short pieces are taken from two books of pieces 19th century Belgian composer César Franck wrote for the harmonium (an instrument similar to an organ, where the sound is produced as air passes through metal reeds, usually powered by foot-operated bellows). They were written for a pupil, a village organist, to illustrate technical advice. The first piece (Dolly's Complaint) is the longest of the set, with the middle section wandering into the minor key; the second (untitled) features chormatic lines and litling, shared melodies. The third is a Song from the Creuse (an area of central France), and has a rustic feel with the time changing from 2 to 3 beats in a bar. The last piece is a simple canon in compound time.