Naturszenen Op. 3, No. 1

This first scene depicts the ending of darkness with the rising of the sun and the daylight world stirring to life after night's slumber. There is a certain rhythmic freedom to the phrases due in part to the two hands being a half a beat out of sync with one another which is not resolved until the end. As the work progresses, the right hand harmonies become gradually thicker going from a single line to thirds to full chords and finally returning to a more sparse texture until the final note sounds and fades away. The sun has taken to the sky and a new day begins.