A classic example of late-romantic French salon music, evoking a sense of past memories. It features a sweeping, emotive melody supported by traditional broken-chord accompaniment.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse; and careful pedaling — clarity depends on the foot as much as the fingers.
Beyond that, expect a waltz lilt that needs charm and a flexible left hand.
The challenge lies in shaping the long, expressive phrases with appropriate dynamic gradation.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Comme autrefois (Op. 112) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
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 Comme autrefois (Op. 112) lasts about 4 minutes.
Comme autrefois (Op. 112) 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 Consolation by Henri van Gael, Bonne mère by Henri van Gael, Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.