Ballades (Chopin)
Encyclopedia
Frédéric Chopin
's four ballades are one-movement pieces for solo piano, composed between 1835 and 1842. They are some of the most challenging pieces in the standard piano repertoire.
The term "ballade" was associated with French poetry until the mid-19th century, when Chopin was among the first to pioneer the ballade as a musical form. The four ballades are said to have been inspired by poet Adam Mickiewicz
. The exact inspiration for each individual ballade, however, is unclear and disputed.
It is clear, however, that they are a novel innovation of Chopin's, and that they cannot be placed into another (e.g. the sonata
) form. Although they do not conform exactly to Sonata form, the "ballade form" created by Chopin for his 4 ballades is a distinct variant of Sonata form with specific discrepancies, such as the mirror reprise (presenting the two expositional themes in reverse order during the recapitulation). The ballades have also directly influenced composers such as Franz Liszt
and Johannes Brahms
who, after Chopin, wrote ballades of their own.
Besides sharing the title, the four ballades are entities distinct from each other. According to composer and music critic Louis Ehlert
, "Each [ballade] differs entirely from the others, and they have but one thing in common – their romantic working out and the nobility of their motifs
." Modern theorists have shown, however, that the ballades do have much in common, such as the "ballade meter" (6/4 or 6/8) and certain formal practices like the mirror reprise and delaying the structural dominant.
The four ballades are among the most enduring of Chopin's compositions, and are frequently heard in concerts.
's poem Konrad Wallenrod. Chopin seemed to have been fond of the piece; in a letter to Heinrich Dorn
, Robert Schumann
commented that, "I received a new Ballade from Chopin. It seems to be a work closest to his genius (although not the most ingenious) and I told him that I like it best of all his compositions. After quite a lengthy silence he replied with emphasis, 'I am happy to hear this since I too like it most and hold it dearest.'"
The piece begins with a brief introduction which, contrary to popular belief, is not unrelated to the rest of the piece. Written in first inversion of the A flat major chord, it is a Neapolitan chord
that implies a majestic aura, ending in a dissonant, questioning left hand chord D, G, and E-flat that is not resolved until later on in the piece. Though Chopin's original manuscript clearly marks an E-flat as the top note, the chord has caused some degree of controversy, and thus, some versions of the work - such as the Klindworth
edition - include D, G, D as an ossia
. The main section of the Ballade is built from two main themes. The brief introduction fades into the first theme, introduced at measure 8. After some elaboration, the second theme is introduced softly at measure 68. This theme is also elaborated on. Both themes then return in different keys, and the first theme finally returns again in the same key, albeit with an altered left hand accompaniment. A thundering chord introduces the coda
, marked Presto con fuoco, to which the initial Neapolitan harmony re-emerges in constant dynamic forward propulsion, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery double octave scale run down the keyboard. As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata
and variation
forms.
Technically, many passages of the Ballade require rapid scales, very fast and large chords, octaves, and difficult fingerings.
A distinguishing feature of Ballade No. 1 is its time signature
. While the other three are written in strict compound duple time
, with a 6/8 time signature, Ballade No. 1 bears deviations from this. The introduction is written in 4/4 time, and the more extensive Presto con fuoco coda is written in 2/2. The rest of the piece is written in 6/4, rather than the 6/8 which characterizes the others.
Ballade No. 1 is one of the more popular Chopin pieces. It is prominently featured in the 2002 Roman Polanski
film The Pianist
, where an approximately four-minute cut is played by Janusz Olejniczak
. It is also played in the 1944 film Gaslight
and heard in the 2006 satire Thank You for Smoking. It is also briefly played in the film "Rhapsody". It is also the music for the "Black" pas de deux, the final, climactic pas de deux in John Neumeier
's staging of the ballet The Lady of the Camellias, based upon the novel
by Alexandre Dumas, fils
. Many noteworthy pianists have performed and recorded the piece, including Sviatoslav Richter
, Emil Gilels
, Arthur Rubinstein
, Krystian Zimerman
, Vladimir Horowitz
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
, and Alfred Cortot
.
Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, was composed from 1836 to 1839 in Nohant, France
and on the Spanish
island
of Majorca. Robert Schumann
, who had dedicated his Kreisleriana
, Op. 16 to Chopin, received the dedication of this Ballade in return. The piece has been criticized by prominent pianists and musicologists, including its dedicatee Schumann, as a less ingenious work than the first. There is some degree of disagreement as to its inspiration, with the claim often made that it was inspired by Adam Mickiewicz
’s poem Świtezianka, the lake of Willis, but this claim is unsubstantiated, and the Ballade No. 3 is sometimes attributed to this poem as well.
As with the Ballades No. 3 and No. 4, the Ballade No. 2 is written in compound duple (6/8) time. It opens quietly on the dominant
of the F major key, with repeated Cs in both the left and right hands. This quickly progresses to a melody and development with the performance instruction sotto voce - literally "under the voice", or "quietly". This section fades out with several repeated As in the right hand. The next section of the ballade, in stark contrast to the first, opens with the performance instruction Presto con fuoco – literally “very fast with fire”. It is in an unusual key for a secondary melody; instead of being in the relative minor of F major, it is instead in A minor. Chopin scholar and biographer Frederick Niecks
writes of it, “The entrance of the presto... seems out of keeping with what precedes; but what we hear after... justifies the presence of the presto.” The piece shortly returns to its original tempo and style, and the first melody is further elaborated. Here, Chopin incorporates variations on the melody not present in the initial expository stage of the piece. This development progresses until the Presto con fuoco theme is naturally reintroduced and recapitulated. This time, it is elaborated on as well, and ends abruptly, until the theme is echoed once more and the piece fades out. The original F major theme is echoed, but here in A minor, the key of the Presto; it is thus that the piece ends, without returning to its tonic
key.
Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, dating from 1841, is dedicated to Mademoiselle Pauline de Noailles. The inspiration for this Ballade is usually claimed to be Adam Mickiewicz
's poem Undine, but sometimes reported to be Mickiewicz's Świtezianka; The true inspiration for this piece remains unknown. There are structural similarities to the so-called "Raindrop Prelude" which was inspired by the weather in Majorca during Chopin's disastrous vacation with George Sand. These include a repetitive A-flat which modulates into a repetitive g-sharp during the c-sharp minor section.
The Ballade opens with a lengthy introduction marked dolce - "sweet". The introduction is thematically
unrelated to a majority of the piece, but is recapitulated
near its end. After the introduction, begins a section with the performance direction mezza voce. Here, the second theme is introduced with repeated Cs in two broken octaves in the right hand. This theme will reoccur several time in the form of variations, and these repeated notes will feature prominently three times, twice on C and once on A-flat. The "mezza voce" section soon develops into a furious F minor chordal section and once again returns to A-flat. The second theme is developed mainly through single or double notes in the right hand; this changes into heavy chords followed by a soft development. Right hand sixteenth-note runs soon follow, followed by a recapitulation of the second theme transposed
down from C to A-flat. The key signature then shifts to C-sharp minor. A variation on the second theme follows, this time using rapid arpeggiated
octaves and chords built off of them in the right hand, and jumps spanning up to two octaves in the left. Chopin then writes yet another variation on the theme with a dissonant
accompaniment of octaves. The key signature then shifts back to A-flat major. In the coda
, the theme from the introduction is heard again, this time in thick chords. The piece ends with several right hand trills and runs, along with an arpeggio spiraling downward. Four chords finally provide closure to the piece. As a whole, the piece consists of three themes and several variation
s on parts of both themes.
Technically, this piece involves arpeggios, jumps, and, in the right hand, rapid turns in the C-sharp minor section.
This is the only one of the four Ballades to have a key signature change, from A-flat major to C-sharp minor. This change is later reversed, and the piece returns to its original key. However, it is certainly not the only Ballade to display modulation
. It is also the only one of the four not to have a Presto con fuoco section. Finally, Ballade No. 3 possesses a distinct optimistic musical nature that none of the other three seems to hold, as this is the only one to end in a major tonality.
If this piece is indeed a reflection on the trip to Majorca, it would seem to be looking back with humor on a near-disaster. Chopin had been urged by friends to spend the winter in a sun-filled Mediterranean city. But when they arrived at Palma, their rooms were horrible. So they moved eventually to a monastery accessible by donkey-cart up a steep dirt road, nine miles up a rocky gorge.
The second theme sounds like a donkey's pace. Then the rain came, and the masonry of the old monastery would randomly topple with a shudder. This could be represented by the descending chromatic passages in the c-sharp minor section. Chopin became depressed, and began to be haunted by visions of death and hallucinations. George Sand would later claim that more than one of the Preludes completed at Valldemosa were inspired by "visions of dead monks and the haunting sound of funeral chants, while the laughter of the children playing in the garden, the remote sound of a guitar" inspired other passages. (George Sand - A Biography, by Curtis Cate, Chapter 28, published by Avon)
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, was composed in 1842 in Paris
and Nohant
, and revised in 1843. The work was dedicated to Baronne C. de Rothschild, wife of Nathaniel de Rothschild, who had invited Chopin to play in her Parisian residence, where she introduced him to the aristocracy and nobility. According to Robert Schumann
, this Ballade was inspired by Adam Mickiewicz
's poem The Three Budrys, which tells of three brothers sent away by their father to seek treasures, and the story of their return with three Polish brides.
A phrase in the dominant key (marked piano) opens the seven introductory measures and leads into the first subject of sonata-form exposition, a melody with Slavonic coloration. The first theme undergoes four cumulative transformations with decorations, counter-melodies, counterpoint, and a nocturne-like fioritura
. The development of the second theme and its intertwining with the first heightens the complexity of the musical structure and builds tension. Through the intertwining and thus the simultaneous development of the two themes, Chopin effectively combines the use of both the sonata form
and the variation form
. The body of the piece concludes with a series of accented fortissimo chords, followed by a momentary calm of five pianissimo chords. This then suddenly leads into an extremely fast, turbulent coda
, written in exuberant counterpoint
. Closure is obtained with a downward run on the entire keyboard and four heavy accented chords. Structurally Ballade No. 4 is decidedly intricate.
A major distinguishing feature of the fourth Ballade is its contrapuntal nature. Counterpoint is found only sporadically in Ballades Nos. 1 and 2. The fourth Ballade is musically more subtle than the other three, as most of its portions remain melancholic and profound. Although there are some substantial outbursts in the central sections of the music, the coda
reveals its greatest momentum.
Technically, Ballade No. 4 demands skill in rapid runs, large chords and, in the coda, fast chromatic scales in double thirds. Of the four Ballades, it is considered by many pianists to be the most difficult, both technically and musically.
According to John Ogdon
, “[it is] the most exalted, intense and sublimely powerful of all Chopin’s compositions... It is unbelievable that it lasts only twelve minutes, for it contains the experience of a lifetime.”
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
's four ballades are one-movement pieces for solo piano, composed between 1835 and 1842. They are some of the most challenging pieces in the standard piano repertoire.
The term "ballade" was associated with French poetry until the mid-19th century, when Chopin was among the first to pioneer the ballade as a musical form. The four ballades are said to have been inspired by poet Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
. The exact inspiration for each individual ballade, however, is unclear and disputed.
It is clear, however, that they are a novel innovation of Chopin's, and that they cannot be placed into another (e.g. the sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
) form. Although they do not conform exactly to Sonata form, the "ballade form" created by Chopin for his 4 ballades is a distinct variant of Sonata form with specific discrepancies, such as the mirror reprise (presenting the two expositional themes in reverse order during the recapitulation). The ballades have also directly influenced composers such as Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
and Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
who, after Chopin, wrote ballades of their own.
Besides sharing the title, the four ballades are entities distinct from each other. According to composer and music critic Louis Ehlert
Louis Ehlert
Louis Ehlert was a German composer and music critic.Ehlert entered the Leipzig Conservatory in 1845, where he studied under Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. In 1850 he moved to Berlin where he was a critic and teacher. From 1869 until 1871 he taught at the Schule des höheren Klavierspiels...
, "Each [ballade] differs entirely from the others, and they have but one thing in common – their romantic working out and the nobility of their motifs
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
." Modern theorists have shown, however, that the ballades do have much in common, such as the "ballade meter" (6/4 or 6/8) and certain formal practices like the mirror reprise and delaying the structural dominant.
The four ballades are among the most enduring of Chopin's compositions, and are frequently heard in concerts.
Ballade No. 1
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, was composed in 1835–36 during the composer's early years in Paris and was dedicated to Monsieur le Baron de Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France, and reportedly inspired by Adam MickiewiczAdam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's poem Konrad Wallenrod. Chopin seemed to have been fond of the piece; in a letter to Heinrich Dorn
Heinrich Dorn
Heinrich Ludwig Egmont Dorn was a German conductor, composer, and journalist. He was born in Königsberg , where he studied piano, singing, and composition. Later, he studied in Berlin with Ludwig Berger, Bernhard Klein, and Carl Friedrich Zelter. His first opera, Rolands Knappen, was produced in...
, Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
commented that, "I received a new Ballade from Chopin. It seems to be a work closest to his genius (although not the most ingenious) and I told him that I like it best of all his compositions. After quite a lengthy silence he replied with emphasis, 'I am happy to hear this since I too like it most and hold it dearest.'"
The piece begins with a brief introduction which, contrary to popular belief, is not unrelated to the rest of the piece. Written in first inversion of the A flat major chord, it is a Neapolitan chord
Neapolitan chord
In music theory, a Neapolitan chord is a major chord built on the lowered second scale degree. It most commonly occurs in first inversion so that it is notated either as II6 or N6 and normally referred to as a Neapolitan sixth chord...
that implies a majestic aura, ending in a dissonant, questioning left hand chord D, G, and E-flat that is not resolved until later on in the piece. Though Chopin's original manuscript clearly marks an E-flat as the top note, the chord has caused some degree of controversy, and thus, some versions of the work - such as the Klindworth
Karl Klindworth
Karl Klindworth was a German composer, pianist, conductor, violinist and music publisher.-Biography:Klindworth was born at Hanover in 1830. For a time he conducted a traveling opera troupe, but settled in Hanover as a teacher and composer. From there he went to Weimar, 1852, and studied the piano...
edition - include D, G, D as an ossia
Ossia
Ossia is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, meaning "or be it" . Ossias are very common in opera and solo piano works...
. The main section of the Ballade is built from two main themes. The brief introduction fades into the first theme, introduced at measure 8. After some elaboration, the second theme is introduced softly at measure 68. This theme is also elaborated on. Both themes then return in different keys, and the first theme finally returns again in the same key, albeit with an altered left hand accompaniment. A thundering chord introduces the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, marked Presto con fuoco, to which the initial Neapolitan harmony re-emerges in constant dynamic forward propulsion, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery double octave scale run down the keyboard. As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
and variation
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
forms.
Technically, many passages of the Ballade require rapid scales, very fast and large chords, octaves, and difficult fingerings.
A distinguishing feature of Ballade No. 1 is its time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. While the other three are written in strict compound duple time
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
, with a 6/8 time signature, Ballade No. 1 bears deviations from this. The introduction is written in 4/4 time, and the more extensive Presto con fuoco coda is written in 2/2. The rest of the piece is written in 6/4, rather than the 6/8 which characterizes the others.
Ballade No. 1 is one of the more popular Chopin pieces. It is prominently featured in the 2002 Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
film The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
, where an approximately four-minute cut is played by Janusz Olejniczak
Janusz Olejniczak
Janusz Olejniczak is a Polish classical pianist and actor.Olejniczak's piano teachers were Ryszard Bakst and Zbigniew Drzewiecki. In 1970 he won 6th place in the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and two years later he placed in the Alfredo Casella Piano Competition in...
. It is also played in the 1944 film Gaslight
Gaslight (1944 film)
Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier...
and heard in the 2006 satire Thank You for Smoking. It is also briefly played in the film "Rhapsody". It is also the music for the "Black" pas de deux, the final, climactic pas de deux in John Neumeier
John Neumeier
John Neumeier is a well-known American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973. 5 years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also includes a boarding school...
's staging of the ballet The Lady of the Camellias, based upon the novel
The Lady of the Camellias
The Lady of the Camellias is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, and subsequently adapted for the stage. The Lady of the Camellias premiered at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. The play was an instant success, and Giuseppe Verdi immediately set...
by Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
. Many noteworthy pianists have performed and recorded the piece, including Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter was a Soviet pianist well known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Childhood:...
, Emil Gilels
Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...
, Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
, Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman is a Polish classical pianist who is widely regarded as one of the finest living pianists.-Biography:...
, Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, and Alfred Cortot
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
.
Ballade No. 2
Nohant-Vic
Nohant-Vic is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is located near La Châtre, on the D943, approximately south-east of Châteauroux and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road.-Geography:...
and on the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Majorca. Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, who had dedicated his Kreisleriana
Kreisleriana
Kreisleriana, Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled , written in April 1838. Dedicated to Frédéric Chopin, it is a very dramatic work and is considered to be one of Schumann's finest compositions....
, Op. 16 to Chopin, received the dedication of this Ballade in return. The piece has been criticized by prominent pianists and musicologists, including its dedicatee Schumann, as a less ingenious work than the first. There is some degree of disagreement as to its inspiration, with the claim often made that it was inspired by Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
’s poem Świtezianka, the lake of Willis, but this claim is unsubstantiated, and the Ballade No. 3 is sometimes attributed to this poem as well.
As with the Ballades No. 3 and No. 4, the Ballade No. 2 is written in compound duple (6/8) time. It opens quietly on the dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
of the F major key, with repeated Cs in both the left and right hands. This quickly progresses to a melody and development with the performance instruction sotto voce - literally "under the voice", or "quietly". This section fades out with several repeated As in the right hand. The next section of the ballade, in stark contrast to the first, opens with the performance instruction Presto con fuoco – literally “very fast with fire”. It is in an unusual key for a secondary melody; instead of being in the relative minor of F major, it is instead in A minor. Chopin scholar and biographer Frederick Niecks
Frederick Niecks
Frederick Niecks was a German musical scholar and author, who was resident in Scotland for the bulk of his life. He is best remembered now for his biographies of Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.-Biography:...
writes of it, “The entrance of the presto... seems out of keeping with what precedes; but what we hear after... justifies the presence of the presto.” The piece shortly returns to its original tempo and style, and the first melody is further elaborated. Here, Chopin incorporates variations on the melody not present in the initial expository stage of the piece. This development progresses until the Presto con fuoco theme is naturally reintroduced and recapitulated. This time, it is elaborated on as well, and ends abruptly, until the theme is echoed once more and the piece fades out. The original F major theme is echoed, but here in A minor, the key of the Presto; it is thus that the piece ends, without returning to its tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
key.
Ballade No. 3
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's poem Undine, but sometimes reported to be Mickiewicz's Świtezianka; The true inspiration for this piece remains unknown. There are structural similarities to the so-called "Raindrop Prelude" which was inspired by the weather in Majorca during Chopin's disastrous vacation with George Sand. These include a repetitive A-flat which modulates into a repetitive g-sharp during the c-sharp minor section.
The Ballade opens with a lengthy introduction marked dolce - "sweet". The introduction is thematically
Theme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
unrelated to a majority of the piece, but is recapitulated
Recapitulation (music)
In music theory, the recapitulation is one of the sections of a movement written in sonata form. The recapitulation occurs after the movement's development section, and typically presents once more the musical themes from the movement's exposition...
near its end. After the introduction, begins a section with the performance direction mezza voce. Here, the second theme is introduced with repeated Cs in two broken octaves in the right hand. This theme will reoccur several time in the form of variations, and these repeated notes will feature prominently three times, twice on C and once on A-flat. The "mezza voce" section soon develops into a furious F minor chordal section and once again returns to A-flat. The second theme is developed mainly through single or double notes in the right hand; this changes into heavy chords followed by a soft development. Right hand sixteenth-note runs soon follow, followed by a recapitulation of the second theme transposed
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
down from C to A-flat. The key signature then shifts to C-sharp minor. A variation on the second theme follows, this time using rapid arpeggiated
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
octaves and chords built off of them in the right hand, and jumps spanning up to two octaves in the left. Chopin then writes yet another variation on the theme with a dissonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
accompaniment of octaves. The key signature then shifts back to A-flat major. In the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, the theme from the introduction is heard again, this time in thick chords. The piece ends with several right hand trills and runs, along with an arpeggio spiraling downward. Four chords finally provide closure to the piece. As a whole, the piece consists of three themes and several variation
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
s on parts of both themes.
Technically, this piece involves arpeggios, jumps, and, in the right hand, rapid turns in the C-sharp minor section.
This is the only one of the four Ballades to have a key signature change, from A-flat major to C-sharp minor. This change is later reversed, and the piece returns to its original key. However, it is certainly not the only Ballade to display modulation
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
. It is also the only one of the four not to have a Presto con fuoco section. Finally, Ballade No. 3 possesses a distinct optimistic musical nature that none of the other three seems to hold, as this is the only one to end in a major tonality.
If this piece is indeed a reflection on the trip to Majorca, it would seem to be looking back with humor on a near-disaster. Chopin had been urged by friends to spend the winter in a sun-filled Mediterranean city. But when they arrived at Palma, their rooms were horrible. So they moved eventually to a monastery accessible by donkey-cart up a steep dirt road, nine miles up a rocky gorge.
The second theme sounds like a donkey's pace. Then the rain came, and the masonry of the old monastery would randomly topple with a shudder. This could be represented by the descending chromatic passages in the c-sharp minor section. Chopin became depressed, and began to be haunted by visions of death and hallucinations. George Sand would later claim that more than one of the Preludes completed at Valldemosa were inspired by "visions of dead monks and the haunting sound of funeral chants, while the laughter of the children playing in the garden, the remote sound of a guitar" inspired other passages. (George Sand - A Biography, by Curtis Cate, Chapter 28, published by Avon)
Ballade No. 4
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Nohant
Nohant-Vic
Nohant-Vic is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is located near La Châtre, on the D943, approximately south-east of Châteauroux and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road.-Geography:...
, and revised in 1843. The work was dedicated to Baronne C. de Rothschild, wife of Nathaniel de Rothschild, who had invited Chopin to play in her Parisian residence, where she introduced him to the aristocracy and nobility. According to Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, this Ballade was inspired by Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
's poem The Three Budrys, which tells of three brothers sent away by their father to seek treasures, and the story of their return with three Polish brides.
A phrase in the dominant key (marked piano) opens the seven introductory measures and leads into the first subject of sonata-form exposition, a melody with Slavonic coloration. The first theme undergoes four cumulative transformations with decorations, counter-melodies, counterpoint, and a nocturne-like fioritura
Fioritura
"Fioritura" is the name given to the flowery, embellished vocal line found in many arias from nineteenth-century opera. It is derived from the Italian fiore, meaning "flower".- External links :*...
. The development of the second theme and its intertwining with the first heightens the complexity of the musical structure and builds tension. Through the intertwining and thus the simultaneous development of the two themes, Chopin effectively combines the use of both the sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
and the variation form
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
. The body of the piece concludes with a series of accented fortissimo chords, followed by a momentary calm of five pianissimo chords. This then suddenly leads into an extremely fast, turbulent coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, written in exuberant counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
. Closure is obtained with a downward run on the entire keyboard and four heavy accented chords. Structurally Ballade No. 4 is decidedly intricate.
A major distinguishing feature of the fourth Ballade is its contrapuntal nature. Counterpoint is found only sporadically in Ballades Nos. 1 and 2. The fourth Ballade is musically more subtle than the other three, as most of its portions remain melancholic and profound. Although there are some substantial outbursts in the central sections of the music, the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
reveals its greatest momentum.
Technically, Ballade No. 4 demands skill in rapid runs, large chords and, in the coda, fast chromatic scales in double thirds. Of the four Ballades, it is considered by many pianists to be the most difficult, both technically and musically.
According to John Ogdon
John Ogdon
John Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
, “[it is] the most exalted, intense and sublimely powerful of all Chopin’s compositions... It is unbelievable that it lasts only twelve minutes, for it contains the experience of a lifetime.”
External links
- Analysis of Chopin's Ballades at Chopin: the poet of the piano
- Chopin’s G minor Ballade, Op. 23, a look inside by Beth Levin, La Folia Online Music Review.
- Chopin and the G minor Ballade, University essay by David Björling.
- to Chopin", listen to Chopin's Ballades and other music.
- Blog post about the Ballade No. 1 by Arthur Greene.
- Read more on the Ballade No. 3 and hear the performance at the Chopin Project site
- Free scores for all four Ballades can be found on the Chopin page at IMSLPInternational Music Score Library ProjectThe International Music Score Library Project , also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle...
, or on the Chopin page at MusopenMusopenMusopen is an online music library of copyright-free music. Musopen's mission is to record or obtain recordings that have no copyrights so that its visitors may listen, re-use, or in any way enjoy music; put simply, "to set music free."...
. - Krystian ZimermanKrystian ZimermanKrystian Zimerman is a Polish classical pianist who is widely regarded as one of the finest living pianists.-Biography:...
performs the Ballades on YouTube: No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 Part 1 No. 4 Part 2 - Arthur RubinsteinArthur RubinsteinArthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
performs Ballade No. 4 on YouTube: Click to view