Following the release in 2003 of the Urtext Peters Edition publication of Fauré's Pièces brèves (EP 7601), the eminent French music specialist Roy Howat has taken an in-depth look at another lesser-known collection of piano pieces by Gabriel Fauré - Romances sans paroles - to reveal further treasures. Romances sans paroles is French for 'Lieder ohne Worte' or 'Songs without words'. Fauré's only three pieces in the genre, suggesting a youthful homage to Mendelssohn, were his first piano pieces to be published. Exactly when he composed them is uncertain, though most of his biographers suggest it could have been any time from 1863 onwards (the year he turned eighteen). In fact the Romances sans paroles are not easy, given the pianist's dual occupation.