Arabesque
An ornament-rich character piece or figure.
What it means
Arabesque denotes a character piece, usually for piano, whose layout is determined by continuous, intertwined figuration. The name comes from the visual arts, where it means a tendril ornament; transferred to music, it describes a movement in which a melody is entwined by playing-around figures or dissolves entirely into motion. The term also denotes, more generally, an ornamenting melodic figure.
Musical use
As a genre designation the arabesque belongs to the piano music of the nineteenth century, in which numerous short character pieces with pictorial titles arise. Formally such pieces are usually of manageable construction, frequently ternary with a contrasting middle section. What is characteristic lies not in the form but in the facture: even motion, an openwork leading of the line, a melody that emerges from the figure-work and vanishes into it again. The arabesque thereby stands close to other short forms such as the bagatelle and the humoresque, which likewise define themselves through character and not through a structural plan.
Performance practice
First work out where the melody lies, and practise it separately from the figuration; if the two are treated alike, the piece loses its contour. Keep the motion even and calm — irregularities stand out at once in continuous figures. Use the pedal sparingly and change by ear at the change of harmony, so that the lines stay clear. Watch for a light touch; such pieces lose more through heaviness than through too little volume. Shape the middle section clearly different in character.
Watch also the distribution between the hands: in many arabesques the melody wanders between the thumb and the upper voice, and what is played mechanically alike then sounds unclear. Practise the melody notes alone and add the playing-around notes only afterward. Keep the loudness on the whole rather restrained, because the charm of such pieces lies in transparency. With repeats a small change of tone colour is worthwhile rather than a change of tempo, so that the even motion is preserved.