Compass II is a reflective solo piece that uses expansive arpeggiated figures to explore harmonic direction. It functions as a musical journey, moving through varied emotional territories.
The technical demand lies in fluidly managing the wide-span arpeggios while maintaining a consistent narrative flow.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
COMPASS II 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 COMPASS II lasts about 4 minutes.
COMPASS II 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 Bilder aus Osten by Robert Schumann, 12 Variations auf die Folie d'Espagne, Wq.118/9 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Barafostus Dreame, MB 62 by Thomas Tomkins — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.