Poème d’Amour
Adolf von Henselt’s Poème d’Amour, Op. 3, is a demanding Romantic piano work in which lyrical writing and concert étude technique are closely bound together. Its title suggests intimacy, but the writing is far from merely decorative: sustained melodic lines must be projected through broad arpeggiation, elaborate figuration and textures that require disciplined control.
This Felix Editions Urtext Edition presents the work in two versions, based on two Schlesinger sources from 1838. It offers advanced pianists, teachers and repertoire explorers a newly engraved, practical score of a piece whose early publication history is unusually instructive.
About this edition
This edition is based on two Schlesinger publications from 1838: Poème d’Amour, Op. 3, plate numbers S. 2176A and S. 2176B. Both versions are included.
The first version presented here is marked Edition No. 2 revue par l’auteur. In correspondence, Henselt still referred to the piece as the “H-Etude” and explained that he was reissuing it with the middle section listeners preferred because they could play it, while also simplifying the more difficult large figurative passage. This three-part version is therefore not a casual simplification, but an authorially revised form of the work.
A few months later, Henselt issued another substantially revised version. By placing both versions in one publication, this edition allows performers and teachers to compare Henselt’s own solutions to a central problem in nineteenth-century virtuoso piano writing: how to preserve musical effect while making the work playable by more than a very small number of pianists.
The score has been newly engraved for practical use at the piano. It is designed as a working edition: clearly set, easier to use than a scan, and prepared with close attention to the surviving sources.
The music
Poème d’Amour stands close to the world of the Romantic concert étude, but it is not simply a study. Its musical interest lies in the tension between song-like line and physical difficulty. The pianist must keep the melodic thread alive while managing wide-spread textures, flowing passagework and changes of density across the keyboard.
The work shows several traits associated with Henselt’s piano writing: cantabile tone, finger legato, broad spacing, and virtuosity that should sound fluent rather than forceful. The difficulty is therefore not only mechanical. The piece asks for voicing, balance, restraint in pedalling and a clear sense of direction.
For pianists interested in nineteenth-century repertoire beyond the standard recital sequence, Poème d’Amour offers a persuasive alternative: lyrical in character, technically serious, and historically revealing in the way its different versions show the composer adjusting his own material for performance.
Who is it for?
This edition is intended for advanced pianists, conservatoire students, teachers, researchers and collectors of Romantic piano music.
Performers will find a compact but substantial concert piece with a distinctive lyrical profile and considerable technical demands. Teachers and students can use it to work on cantabile playing within difficult textures, voicing across registers, arpeggiated accompaniment, and the relationship between virtuoso writing and musical line.
For repertoire explorers and collectors, the inclusion of both 1838 versions gives the edition a particular value. It is not only a playable score, but also a useful document of Henselt’s revision process and of the practical pressures surrounding Romantic virtuoso publication.
Available formats
Available as a PDF download and as a printed edition.