La Traviata - N11 Coro di zingari

Description

Within the Act II finale of La Traviata, this chorus is sung as entertainment at the masked ball in Flora's house. Women disguised as gypsy fortune-tellers read the guests' palms and expose the Marquis's flirting, setting off a small quarrel with Flora. It is a light diversion placed just before the drama tightens.

The file gives E minor in 4/4. Though in the minor, it is not dark: a light melody repeats over a bouncing rhythm that suggests tambourines. The writing pairs the choral tune with a percussive accompaniment figure, and the colour of the scene comes from the snap of the rhythm. It lasts about five minutes forty seconds with 1,834 notes, and its range from E2 to A-flat 6 fits a 61-key keyboard.

It is rated advanced, and the challenge is keeping the rhythm crisp to the end. If the accompaniment figure gets heavy the dance loses its lightness, so short notes must stay short and accents must be clearly set apart. Get the rhythm into your body at a reduced playback speed before returning to tempo, and use the hand colours to see how melody and accompaniment figure are divided between the hands.

A broad collection of standalone piano pieces not belonging to any specific set, offering hundreds of varied character pieces to explore and compare.