Noctave
The piece
Grace is built entirely on one ornament, the turn, written out here in full: an eighth note followed by four thirty-second notes that circle around it before springing to the next note. Burgmüller, who also wrote for the stage, including the ballet La Péri in 1843, sends this figure climbing step by step up to a very high F. In the middle section he hands it to the left hand, beneath detached chords in the right.
In the right hand the pace is about six and a half notes per second, rising to seven and a half in the turns. The secret is not to rush them: the four thirty-seconds should circle smoothly, without piling into the following eighth. Choose one fingering for the figure and keep it every time it comes back. The range is wide, five octaves from low F to high F, so look at the keyboard before each climb. When the left hand takes over the figure, practise it alone, then add the lighter right-hand chords with the left hand in charge.