Description
A piece after George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the German-born composer who made his career in London. In the London of 1801, where Clementi published this method, Handel's music was still current as a classic, and choosing a composer familiar to local ears was the natural thing to do.
In C major and common time: 246 notes, around seventy-five seconds. An "air" means a piece of singing character, and this one has no technical device in it — the point is to let the melody sing plainly. The note count is low and the roles of the two hands are clearly separated.
A beginner piece. With few notes, the length and volume of each one shows. Count the four beats, but decide as well where the melodic phrases take breath. Keep the left-hand chords softer than the melody: do those two things and a plain piece suddenly sounds like music.
A piano method Clementi published in 1801, comprising 50 lessons that arrange famous Baroque and Classical works for solo piano.
Browse all songs in Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op.42 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome and moved to England while still young, building a career in London as a pianist, composer, and instrument manufacturer. Often called the "father of the pianoforte," he wrote the study collection Gradus ad Parnassum and numerous sonatinas that remain staples of piano pedagogy. This site includes pieces from his Op. 42 tutor, built on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" and melodies by Haydn and Mozart, along with movements from the Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1.
View all works by Clementi →