A popular salon piece by Paul Wachs, known for its bright, optimistic opening and pleasant melodic contour. It exemplifies the accessible, song-like piano works of the French Belle Époque.
Achieving clarity in the articulation of the melodic grace notes is essential for a professional delivery.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Au matin is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 5.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Au matin lasts about 3 minutes.
Au matin is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Blanche neige by Paul Wachs, Ballet mignon by Paul Wachs, Balancelle by Paul Wachs — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.