With this early cycle (1863/64), Fauré follows in the footsteps of Mendelssohn's “Lieder ohne Worte” (Songs without Words) whilst at the same time enrolling into the French tradition of the “Romance sans paroles” as penned by composers such as Thalberg, Kalkbrenner, Gounod or Bizet before him. It was not until 1880 that the pieces, the first of his piano works, appeared in print during the same year as the Ballade op. 19. The numerous reprints, transcriptions and arrangements during Fauré’s lifetime testify to the great popularity of these works, which are also well-suited for piano lessons.

This Urtext edition takes all available sources into account, including the recording by Fauré himself and an early four-hand version of No. 3. It is based on the musical text of the “Œuvres complètes” of Gabriel Fauré and also contains the first version for piano two-hands of the third “Romance sans paroles” in the appendix.