This anonymous setting of the Barafostus theme represents the common practice of keyboard variation writing in the early 17th century. Its distinction lies in its historical significance as an anonymous archival piece within the broader Virginalist tradition.
Students must focus on clarity of touch and rhythmic stability during the increasingly complex variations.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Barafostus Dreame is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 4 — meaning you can already play level 3–4 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 Barafostus Dreame lasts about 4 minutes.
Barafostus Dreame 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 Allabreve in C minor, D-LEb Go.S.104/8 by Anonymous, Allemanda, FVB 274 by Anonymous, Bahçe Duvarından Aştım by Anonymous — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.