Dancla 6 Petites fantaisies faciles Op. 126 for Violin and Piano Book 2

Dancla's 6 Petites fantaisies faciles, Op. 126 are exactly what the title promises: short pieces that give a developing violinist real music to play without asking for technique they haven't got yet. Book 2 contains two of them, newly engraved with a clean, uncluttered violin part and a piano accompaniment that supports the solo line rather than competing with it.

Both pieces sit at around ABRSM Grade 5 and stay in first and third position throughout. The first, the Petite Fantaisie Air varié in F major, follows Dancla's favourite plan. A singing theme marked Moderato cantabile leads into a contrasting Cantante section, and then the variation changes the picture completely. The theme asks for sustained tone, even bow distribution, and phrases with a clear direction to them. The variation, marked con eleganza, keeps the melody in place but wraps it in continuous running semiquavers, chromatic runs, and a pair of trills near the close. This is where the real work is: the notes come thick and fast, and the only way through is a relaxed, flexible left hand that can move quickly without gripping. It is a properly useful study in speed and release, dressed up as a performance piece.

The second, the Petite Fantaisie-Italienne in C major, is the more lyrical of the pair. It opens dolce over a running quaver bass, moves through a Moderato Cantabile section marked fieramente, a Cantante, and a passage marked con calore, and finishes with crisp staccato quavers that need a light, controlled bow. The melody is built almost entirely from long dotted figures over a quiet accompaniment, which is operatic writing in the Italian sense: lines that want to be sung rather than played. It teaches phrasing and tone as directly as any study, and sounds far more grateful to play.

The piano parts are straightforward. Dancla wrote accompaniments a teacher or a competent student pianist can pick up quickly, which makes these practical for a lesson, a studio concert, or a festival class where rehearsal time with an accompanist is short. At around three minutes each, either piece works as a single programme item, and the two together make a neat six-minute pairing that contrasts well: one built on left-hand facility, the other on cantabile tone.

See and hear the difference

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

Key features

• Instrumentation: Violin and Piano
• Contents: No. 3 Petite Fantaisie Air varié (F major); No. 4 Petite Fantaisie-Italienne (C major)
• Difficulty: approximately ABRSM Grade 5; first and third position throughout
• Duration: approximately 3 minutes each, 6 minutes for both
• Style focus: cantabile tone and phrasing, left-hand speed and flexibility, chromatic runs, staccato bowing
• Format: PDF download, full score and violin part

Who it's for

This suits a Grade 5 violinist looking for recital or festival repertoire that sounds more advanced than it is, and teachers who want a piece that develops left-hand facility and singing tone in the same set. The simple piano parts make it practical for lessons and studio concerts where accompanist rehearsal time is limited. It also works well as a stepping stone towards Dancla's Airs Variés, Op. 89.