A deeply expressive work by Amy Beach, showcasing her ability to weave complex, lush textures within a compact form. It features sweeping, romantic lines and sophisticated harmonic shifts.
The player must achieve a perfect balance between the singing top voice and the dense, oscillating accompaniment.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
By the Still Waters (Op.114) is rated Henle level 5 of 9 — late intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 6–7. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 7.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 5 — meaning you can already play level 4–5 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 By the Still Waters (Op.114) lasts about 4 minutes.
By the Still Waters (Op.114) 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 Ballade by Amy Marcy Beach, Cantico del sol di Francesco d'Assisi by Franz Liszt, Clair de lune by Claude Debussy — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.