Brewer - Marche Heroique

[Martin Cooke]

I feel this is a great piece and I have often sat down to get my hands and feet around it, the most recent time being yesterday evening. However, I am always foxed by the fingering of those little ascending semiquaver passages - six semiquavers in octaves followed by two bold chords - for example - bars 6 - 8. I confess that I usually start (in the RH) with thumb on the E flat for the first three semis, and then thumb again for the second three semis starting on D, but this can be hit and miss (of course) and I just wonder whether I am missing some more elegant and safe fingering solution to this passagework, or whether I should put in some sedulous practice so that I nose dive more accurately when I re-place my hands for the second time, if you see what I mean. This is where my lack of early discipline in learning and practising scales and arpeggios on the piano catches me out badly. The trouble is that this little argeggiatic motif appears so frequently during the piece and in so many different contexts in terms of the notes, that, for me, it renders, an otherwise, reasonably straightforward piece rather unapproachable. If anyone who has this piece at their fingertips has got these things sorted I could do with some advice, please!

[Bevington]

I feel this is a great piece and I have often sat down to get my hands and feet around it, the most recent time being yesterday evening. However, I am always foxed by the fingering of those little ascending semiquaver passages - six semiquavers in octaves followed by two bold chords - for example - bars 6 - 8. I confess that I usually start (in the RH) with thumb on the E flat for the first three semis, and then thumb again for the second three semis starting on D, but this can be hit and miss (of course) and I just wonder whether I am missing some more elegant and safe fingering solution to this passagework, or whether I should put in some sedulous practice so that I nose dive more accurately when I re-place my hands for the second time, if you see what I mean. This is where my lack of early discipline in learning and practising scales and arpeggios on the piano catches me out badly. The trouble is that this little argeggiatic motif appears so frequently during the piece and in so many different contexts in terms of the notes, that, for me, it renders, an otherwise, reasonably straightforward piece rather unapproachable. If anyone who has this piece at their fingertips has got these things sorted I could do with some advice, please!

Haven't played the Brewer for years, but having recently re-organised my organ music shelf it is easily to hand. I have spent much time with similar patterns in the first movement of Harwoods Sonata in C#. In my Brewer, however, I notice that last time I played it I obviously altered the fingering from years ago, as there is evidence of more youthful - and possibly more contrived fingering - being erased. I notice that I have marked my copy to allow a tiny 'lift' before some of the big chords that follow the six note groups of semiquavers. I guess that I did this to let me 'place' my hands for the chords. For the first group I have: RH 123 123' and LH 532 131' marked. The next group RH 123 123' and LH 532 121' . Further on (last bar of the third page in my copy) where RH and LH begin on C# I have RH 212 413 and LH 214 321.

Hand position/shape will help, and I find it helpful to have some arch and roll in my movement. Hope this begins to help a little bit....others will no doubt offer more. Possibly if I played it again now I may consider RH and LH helping each other, (by playing each others notes here and there) but I will have based my fingering on what I use for piano technical work.

[Martin Cooke]

Haven't played the Brewer for years, but having recently re-organised my organ music shelf it is easily to hand. I have spent much time with similar patterns in the first movement of Harwoods Sonata in C#. In my Brewer, however, I notice that last time I played it I obviously altered the fingering from years ago, as there is evidence of more youthful - and possibly more contrived fingering - being erased. I notice that I have marked my copy to allow a tiny 'lift' before some of the big chords that follow the six note groups of semiquavers. I guess that I did this to let me 'place' my hands for the chords. For the first group I have: RH 123 123' and LH 532 131' marked. The next group RH 123 123' and LH 532 121' . Further on (last bar of the third page in my copy) where RH and LH begin on C# I have RH 212 413 and LH 214 321.

Hand position/shape will help, and I find it helpful to have some arch and roll in my movement. Hope this begins to help a little bit....others will no doubt offer more. Possibly if I played it again now I may consider RH and LH helping each other, (by playing each others notes here and there) but I will have based my fingering on what I use for piano technical work.

 

Thank you so much for responding JOR - most helpful. Of course, the other thing I've come to realise is that you don't need to play the semis 3+3 just because they start on a triad, in some instances I've been playing them 4+2.