This piece uses sparse textures and avant-garde articulation to create a sense of ambiguity. It is a thoughtful exploration of silence and sound within a small-scale structure.
Focus on maintaining the emotional intensity during long pauses and soft passages.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
'hic' for instrumental ensemble is rated Henle level 4 of 9 — intermediate repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 5–6. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 6.
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 'hic' for instrumental ensemble lasts about 5 minutes.
'hic' for instrumental ensemble 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 At Twilight by Percy Grainger, Berceuse by Theodore Akimenko, Albumblatt, BV 272a by Ferruccio Busoni — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.