This second installation in the cycle expands on the expansive, stormy gestures found in Holbrooke's early output. It features sweeping thematic developments that demand significant stamina and tonal control.
Students must balance the aggressive, percussive writing with moments of sudden, refined lyrical intimacy.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Cambrian Ballade No. 2 is rated Henle level 7 of 9 — late advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grade 8 and above. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 10.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 7 — meaning you can already play level 6–7 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 Cambrian Ballade No. 2 lasts about 9 minutes.
Cambrian Ballade No. 2 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 Cambrian Ballade No.1 by Joseph Holbrooke, Cambrian Ballade No.3 by Joseph Holbrooke, Cambrian Ballade No. 1 by Joseph Holbrooke — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.