Mazurkas & Chopin's Diary

Thursday, January 6, 2005
by Anna Golka
In 1899, the 50th anniversary of Chopin’s death, a decision to build a monument for Poland’s greatest composer was made. This was a very difficult endeavor because Poland was still ruled by the Russian Tsar.
On November 2, 1830 a horse-led stagecoach heads toward Vienna. Inside the packed carriage a young, 20-year-old Fryderyk Chopin leaves his homeland, never to return. With his luggage he carries his most prized possession: a lined notebook with hundreds of folk tunes and rhythms he collected during his childhood.
During his summer vacations he would often sneak away from his guardians and run to some local peasants’ weddings and parties, secretly sitting in a corner he would write down the tunes he heard. Played on simple, primitive instruments, sung and danced by common people, these sank deeply into his heart and were to console and inspire him for the rest of his life.
At that time, while still in Poland, Chopin would seemingly improvise all these vivid tunes to his friends, while they danced them with vigor and laughter. At this time these Polish folk dances were very fashionable, and they were danced to by young noblemen, aristocrats and cavalrymen.
Chopin based his mazurkas on three Polish folk dances:
• kujawiak, the slowest one
• mazur, danced at a moderate tempo
• oberek, the fastest and most energetic one.
All three of these dances have 3 beats to a measure yet differ in character as well as tempo.
At first mazurkas were treated by Chopin as an applied or utilitarian form of art, but immediately after his departure from Poland they became a form of most profound artistic expression. Sending his first mazurka composed outside Poland from Vienna he wrote down the side of page "not for dancing".
In Vienna and later in Paris, during all those years of his lonely life, the melodies of the mazurkas from his childhood diary consoled him, and were the very expression of his grief for his lost homeland and family.
When listening to Chopin’s mazurkas, one hears a unique blend of exact quotes of authentic folk tunes combined with the composer’s elaborations and thoughts. During the 19th century pianistic techniques that showcased the virtuosity of the pianist were developing. Pieces that were simple and didn’t depend on flashiness, like these simple mazurkas, were rarely performed and often misunderstood. In fact to this day some of these pieces seem somewhat strange in their simplicity. Perhaps, like faith, one must simply accept them with an open heart and childlike soul.
Chopin’s last composition was a Mazurka in f-minor written 3 months before his death, closing a collection of over 40 mazurkas. Perhaps, knowing his end was near, he wanted to take one last entry from the diary of his youth.
by Anna Golka
In 1899, the 50th anniversary of Chopin’s death, a decision to build a monument for Poland’s greatest composer was made. This was a very difficult endeavor because Poland was still ruled by the Russian Tsar.
On November 2, 1830 a horse-led stagecoach heads toward Vienna. Inside the packed carriage a young, 20-year-old Fryderyk Chopin leaves his homeland, never to return. With his luggage he carries his most prized possession: a lined notebook with hundreds of folk tunes and rhythms he collected during his childhood.
During his summer vacations he would often sneak away from his guardians and run to some local peasants’ weddings and parties, secretly sitting in a corner he would write down the tunes he heard. Played on simple, primitive instruments, sung and danced by common people, these sank deeply into his heart and were to console and inspire him for the rest of his life.
At that time, while still in Poland, Chopin would seemingly improvise all these vivid tunes to his friends, while they danced them with vigor and laughter. At this time these Polish folk dances were very fashionable, and they were danced to by young noblemen, aristocrats and cavalrymen.
Chopin based his mazurkas on three Polish folk dances:
• kujawiak, the slowest one
• mazur, danced at a moderate tempo
• oberek, the fastest and most energetic one.
All three of these dances have 3 beats to a measure yet differ in character as well as tempo.
At first mazurkas were treated by Chopin as an applied or utilitarian form of art, but immediately after his departure from Poland they became a form of most profound artistic expression. Sending his first mazurka composed outside Poland from Vienna he wrote down the side of page "not for dancing".
In Vienna and later in Paris, during all those years of his lonely life, the melodies of the mazurkas from his childhood diary consoled him, and were the very expression of his grief for his lost homeland and family.
When listening to Chopin’s mazurkas, one hears a unique blend of exact quotes of authentic folk tunes combined with the composer’s elaborations and thoughts. During the 19th century pianistic techniques that showcased the virtuosity of the pianist were developing. Pieces that were simple and didn’t depend on flashiness, like these simple mazurkas, were rarely performed and often misunderstood. In fact to this day some of these pieces seem somewhat strange in their simplicity. Perhaps, like faith, one must simply accept them with an open heart and childlike soul.
Chopin’s last composition was a Mazurka in f-minor written 3 months before his death, closing a collection of over 40 mazurkas. Perhaps, knowing his end was near, he wanted to take one last entry from the diary of his youth.