The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8 Cover Image

The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8: Piano, Solo, Unaccompanied, Solo

$14.99 USD
$14.99 USD
Skip to product information
The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8 Cover Image
The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8: Piano, Solo, Unaccompanied, Solo

The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8: Piano, Solo, Unaccompanied, Solo

By Gioachino Rossini, ed. Sergio Cafaro

Item: 36-M143291
$14.99
Shipped

One moment…

Description
While best known for his operas, Gioachina Rossini (1792-1868) did compose other music, among which is the large collection, PÉCHÉS DE VIEILLESSE ("SINS OF OLD AGE"). Composed of 150 vocal, chamber and solo piano pieces, the collection is grouped into fourteen albums, with the ordering of the works in each album not reflective of the dates or sequence of composition. Written as salon music, intended for performance in the privacy of Rossini's own drawing room, the entire collection was sold by Rossini's widow following his death in 1868. Vol. 8, titled ALBUM DE CHÂTEAU (THE CASTLE ALBUM), was written for solo piano and includes twelve total pieces. Six of those works are available from the publisher across two books: M143291 and M143391. These constitute the pieces included in QR xvii. The remaining six pieces are from QR ii and QR x, and those are not available from the publisher. Edited by Sergio Cafaro. Included in Book 1: Prélude Pétulant Roccoco, G; Un Regret/ Un espoir, E; Boléro Tartare, A-minor. Reprint edition.

The Castle Album, Part 1: from Peches de Vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), Vol. 8: Piano, Solo, Unaccompanied, Solo isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

No sample pages found.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Master Keyboard Series - LudwigMasters
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
ISBN10: 1-63887-431-X
ISBN13: 978-1-63887-431-7
UPC: 735816187989
SKU: 36-M143291
Instrumentation: Piano Solo

More about this title

About the Composer: Gioachino Rossini

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) dominated European opera for decades with his gift for melody and comic timing, writing masterworks like The Barber of Seville and William Tell before retiring from composition at 37. What many musicians discover only later is that Rossini's final decades produced something entirely different: Péchés de Vieillesse, a sprawling collection of 150 pieces written in private, away from the demands of opera house schedules and public expectation.

These later works reveal a composer experimenting freely with form, harmony, and genre. Composed mainly for salon performance in Rossini's own home, they show a more intimate, sometimes whimsical side of a mind that had mastered large-scale dramatic music. The Castle Album is a window into this late creative period, where Rossini wrote for himself and close friends rather than paying audiences.

Why we love this

Rossini's salon pieces offer intermediate pianists a chance to play genuinely sophisticated music by a major composer without requiring virtuosic technique. These three works showcase his melodic gift and harmonic wit in compact, character-filled pieces that perform beautifully in intimate settings and reveal why musicians kept returning to Rossini long after his operatic fame had faded.

What to expect

These pieces capture the ease and elegance of 19th-century drawing room music, where wit and refinement mattered more than display. Rossini's melodies are immediately appealing, his harmonies occasionally surprising, and his sense of form economical and sure; together they create small worlds that feel both polished and genuinely felt.

Who it's for

Intermediate pianists seeking character pieces with genuine compositional weight and students ready to explore the broader Rossini catalog beyond operatic excerpts. Teachers looking for salon-style repertoire that develops phrasing, touch control, and musical maturity without excessive technical demands will find these three pieces ideal.

How to get the most out of it

  • Attend to the character implied by each title. Prélude Pétulant Rococo demands a playful, slightly arch touch; Boléro Tartare invites rhythmic swagger; Un Regret/Un espoir rewards sensitive rubato and tonal shading between its paired emotional states.
  • Balance decorative figuration against harmonic substance. Rossini's salon style often pairs ornamental passagework with elegant underlying progressions; let both register without allowing surface detail to obscure the harmonic motion.
  • Shape phrases with a singer's sensibility. Even in solo piano music, Rossini's melodic lines benefit from the breathing and phrasing conventions of vocal music, with clear arrival points and natural contours.

How to use it

Program one or more pieces on a recital devoted to 19th-century salon music or keyboard miniatures, pairing them with works by Schubert, Schumann, or Mendelssohn. These three works also make strong choices for student recitals or informal concerts where the goal is engaging the audience with character and charm rather than technical display.

Skills your students will build

  • Phrasing and rubato in a melodic, vocal style
  • Touch differentiation between melody, harmony, and decorative figuration
  • Harmonic navigation in Romantic-era tonality with occasional chromatic movement
  • Stylistic understanding of 19th-century salon music conventions
  • Expressive control in shorter character forms

You May Also Like