Twelve Variations on Je suis Lindor

A theatrical tune with a singing centre

The theme of Je suis Lindor comes from Baudron’s music for Beaumarchais’ Le Barbier de Séville. Its keyboard setting moves between chordal statements, short ornaments and more flowing passages. Even before the first variation’s quick figurations arrive, the tune needs flexibility of colour. Keep the Allegretto alive without letting the decorative details make every phrase feel hurried.

Hear the line through the changing texture

Sing the melody’s outline and notice where a chord belongs to a continuing phrase rather than to a new accent. Then practise the first variation slowly enough to hear its small-note patterns clearly. Compare its harmonic arrivals with the theme. The aim is to preserve the song’s direction while the fingers acquire a different task, not simply to play the variation faster than its model.

Music in this edition

1. Twelve Variations on Je suis Lindor