The Masters and their Music Part 7

PROGRAM I. (Easy.)

Polonaise in A major, opus 40, No. 1.

Polonaise in C-sharp minor, opus 26, No. 1.

Preludes: Opus 28. No. 4, E minor.

No. 6, B minor.

No. 7, A major.

No. 9, E major.

Prelude in D-flat, opus 28, No. 15.

Waltz in C-sharp minor, opus 64.

Waltz in D-flat, opus 64, No. 1.

Nocturne in E-flat, opus 9, No. 2.

Waltz in A-flat, opus 42.

PROGRAM II. (More difficult.)

Polonaise in A major.

Fantasia Impromptu in C-sharp minor, opus 66.

Scherzo in B-flat minor, opus 31.

Nocturne in E-flat major, opus 9, No. 2.

Nocturne in G major, opus 37, No. 2.

Ballad in A-flat, opus 47.

PROGRAM III. (Still more difficult.)

etudes: Opus 10, No. 1, C major.

No. 2, A minor.

No. 3, E major.

No. 4, C-sharp minor.

No. 5, G-flat (black key).

Ballad in A-flat, opus 47.

Romanza from First Concerto, in E minor. (Reinecke's arrangement or with second piano.) Impromptu in A-flat, opus 29.

Nocturne in D-flat, opus 27, No. 2.

Polonaise in A-flat, opus 53.

In order to fully understand the individuality and genius of Frederic Francois Chopin (1809-1849) it would be necessary to study his work from three standpoints. First, naturally, for what it is in and of itself--the moods, the qualities of style, the peculiar individuality of his musical thought; second, with reference to the modifications of pianoforte style inaugurated by this gifted genius--modifications which, while having their source in certain improvements of the mechanism of the pianoforte made immediately before Chopin began to write, would not have come so soon but for his genius and insight; and, third, to study the relation of this master in his style of musical ideas and working out, his fancy, his imagination, his representation of many sides of human nature, to the music of the other composers of the romantic school, and especially to that of Mendelssohn and Schumann, whose compositions were produced contemporaneously with those of Chopin. To cover all this ground is naturally impossible in one, two, or even in several, chapters, wherefore I shall confine myself in the present program to ill.u.s.trating a few of the characteristic individualities of Chopin and the essential features of his style.

There are difficulties in doing this adequately, arising from the fact that as piano virtuoso, Chopin, when fully expressing himself, did so without regard for the convenience of imperfectly-trained hands upon the pianoforte. Hence the works of his which represent his genius at its best are mostly too difficult for any but very accomplished players.

In recognition of this difficulty I have made three programs, each more difficult than the preceding, from which the student may make his choice, since the qualities are mainly the same in all, excepting that his complete treatment of the pianoforte is more perfectly ill.u.s.trated in the more difficult examples of his style. These, I may add, are no longer the utmost limit of pianoforte difficulty, as they were at the time when written; later writers have pa.s.sed considerably beyond even the most difficult works of Chopin. But for pianists in general some of the Chopin works still remain along the farthest borders of their art.

Among the most striking peculiarities of Chopin's style are, perhaps: first, melodiousness, combined with a certain melancholy, almost morbid, mood; second, pleasing running work, especially for the right hand, generally overlying an entirely simple ba.s.s, or a ba.s.s essentially simple upon the harmonic side but broken or modified so as to conceal this fact from the superficial observer. All his later life Chopin was an invalid or semi-invalid, and much of his music ill.u.s.trates a certain feverishness and morbidness of temperament.

The originality of Chopin shows best, perhaps, in his polonaises, ballads, preludes, and nocturnes; but the two sonatas, while presenting marked differences from those of the older writers, are, nevertheless, tone-poems of strong originality. Practically, he may be said to have invented the polonaise, the nocturne, and the ballad. The preludes are short pieces of marked originality and expression, which have always seemed to me like chips struck off in working at something else. Very likely they may have been beginnings of larger works which were never completed. Possibly they may have never been intended to reach any larger dimensions than those in which we find them. First, his polonaises.

The polonaise, as perfected by Chopin, is a composition in 3/4 measure, having really six beats to the measure, arranged in three twos; the second of these six beats is divided, and there is an extra accent upon the fifth.

Moreover, this rhythm must be kept quite strictly, like a march, for a march the polonaise is in its general characteristics, rather than a dance properly so called. The fanciful description of the polonaise given by Liszt in his memoir of Chopin may be taken as in the main correct. He says:

"While listening to some of the polonaises of Chopin we can almost catch the firm, nay the more than firm, the heavy, resolute tread of men bravely facing all the bitter injustice which the most cruel and relentless destiny can offer with the manly pride of unblenching courage.

"The progress of the music suggests to our imagination such magnificent groups as were designed by Paul Veronese, robed in the rich costume of days long past; we see pa.s.sing at intervals before us brocades of gold, velvets, damasked satins, silvery, soft, and flexible sables, hanging sleeves gracefully thrown back upon the shoulders, embossed sabers, boots yellow as gold or red with trampled blood, sashes with long and undulating fringes, close chemisettes, rustling trains, stomachers embroidered with pearls, head-dresses glittering with rubies or leafy with emeralds, light slippers rich in amber, gloves perfumed with the luxurious attar of the harems."

The delicacy of Chopin's playing is traditional, but Liszt is authority for the statement that Chopin was fond of hearing his larger and more heroic works played with a power of which he himself was incapable. It is related by some one that upon one occasion a very talented young pianist called upon Chopin, and, being invited to play, did so, the great polonaise in A-flat being the matter. Excited by the work and by the presence of the author, and full of the heroic spirit of the music, he broke several hammers--an occurrence quite common in heavy playing in those days. Naturally, the young man was extremely mortified at this, and endeavored to apologize over and over again. But the composer cut him short. "Say not a word," said he; "if I had your strength I would break every hammer in the piano when I played that piece." This may be one of those "ben trovato" anecdotes which, if not true, ought to be.

Both the polonaises upon the first program ill.u.s.trate the breadth, impa.s.sioned force, and vigor of Chopin's idea to a marked degree, as well, perhaps, as anything he ever composed. The first, commonly known as the "Military Polonaise," is one of those pompous pieces which inevitably suggest some kind of great ceremonial. The movement begins in stately march-like rhythmic swing, and goes on with interruptions of brilliant effect, as if where the cannon and drums add their noisy emphasis. The pomp resumes its march, but presently gives place to a middle part--a trio. This, again, is in the key of D major, with a great swinging melody like a trumpet, the military rhythm going on uninterruptedly below. At length the original movement is resumed, and presently comes the end. In all, it is a matter of pomp, brilliant ceremony, stately march, like some national festival.

The second polonaise is of a wholly different character. The expression is even more forcible than that of the first, but the character is not the same. It is now as if one remembered some of the heroes of Poland. With what fervor enters the leading subject (first four measures)! It is complete in itself. Then comes a softer and more capricious melody, but little more heroic than a nocturne. The second princ.i.p.al idea (measure 25) is mystic, as if some kind of ceremonial were being conducted. The rhythm goes on, but softly and with interruptions. At length the princ.i.p.al idea again. Now comes the middle piece, in the key of D-flat--a beautiful melody, one of the finest of Chopin's, supported upon very delicate and sensitively changing harmonies, full of chromatic and enharmonic modulation. After this a second idea, in which two voices carry on the interest; the upper a soprano, the lower a baritone or tenor, and they have a sort of dialogue (measure 66). Then the soft melody again. In the first editions of this work the da capo was not marked, and for about forty years critics gave themselves headaches in trying to explain why Chopin invented a new form of this anomalous construction,--a first part in the key of C-sharp minor; a second part in the key of D-flat major.

"Where," they asked, "was the unity?" And by way of emphasis they spelled the word Unity with a capital initial. At last, however, some Solomon among editors affixed the missing letters "D. C.," and behold!

we had our Unity all right. It was simply a case of a middle piece in the major key of the same tonic, with the notation changed enharmonically for the sake of simplicity, the key of D-flat being, for the majority of players, easier to read than that of C-sharp major.

The preludes which follow represent individual moods. The first, in E minor, consists of a slow melody, almost stationary, while against the long tones a chord accompaniment softly pulsates, the harmonies s.h.i.+fting chromatically.

The second, No. 6, in B minor, has a lovely melodic idea in the ba.s.s, while the right hand carries a soft harmony and a slow pulsation in the upper voice. The impression of the whole is most mysterious, melancholy, and tender.

No. 7, in A major, is one of the preludes which seems as if it might have been a beginning for a longer composition, perhaps a slow waltz.

No. 9, in E major, a very grave, serious, organ-like movement, in which ma.s.sive, tremendous chord-successions march onward to a climax through unheard-of modulations. This piece, by the way, has been arranged for organ very effectively by A. W. Gottschalg. In playing it the slow movement, the sustained and deep melody, and the steady rhythm all require careful attention.

The prelude in D-flat represents a larger flight of the Chopin fancy.

It begins with a lovely melody, like a nocturne. This exquisite melody gives place to a somewhat broken part in the key of C-sharp minor, in which the remarkable thing is the incessant repet.i.tion of the note G-sharp. This continues in eighth-note motion throughout all the measures of this part of the work. It can only be made tolerable by careful observance of the "sotto voce" at beginning and gradually increasing in power up to the fortissimo in the fortieth measure.

Again it subsides into pianissimo, and again the crescendo. Finally the original melody in D-flat is resumed--and with what grateful sweetness!--and the piece is carried through to the close.

The waltzes of Chopin are not to be taken too seriously. They are salon music, but of a particularly pleasing character. One of the most charming, although a small one, is that in C-sharp minor, which is built upon three leading motives. First the motive of two measures which opens the work; then the little pa.s.sage of eighth notes which answers it; and finally the running work beginning in measure 33.

Farther along there is a melody in D-flat, which stands in place of a trio. It is a sentimental and lovely melody. The effect of the whole is light, capricious, and musical.

Following this is the little waltz in D-flat, opus 64, so often heard, and so many times built over in all sorts of double notes, thirds, sixths, etc. It ill.u.s.trates the knack which Chopin had of developing a pleasing whole out of very slight materials. Observe the extreme simplicity of the ba.s.s.

The name nocturne was invented by John Field, who wrote twelve pieces with this t.i.tle (the remaining ones of the twenty usually printed were named by the publishers) which are, in effect, sonnets; little lyric pieces, of greater or less depth, having the general type of a song without words, but preferably of a melancholy or tender character, and the form of a melody with accompaniment. Chopin took up this form and greatly enn.o.bled it. His nocturnes are vastly more beautiful and original than those of Field; they have greater variety, deeper tenderness, and in every way are more distinguished and characteristic.

The little nocturne in E-flat, opus 9, is one which is now very generally played upon every sort of instrument capable of singing a soprano melody.

The waltz which concludes the first program is of a more brilliant character than the two little ones earlier upon the list. It begins, after the introduction, with a double rhythm, the right hand playing a melody in double measure, while the left hand goes on in triple rhythm.

It should be played with brilliancy, the left hand quite crisp and clear, but light; the right hand rather brilliantly. The syncopation gives place to agreeable running work for the right hand, and this again to another subject in double notes, a very earnest melody. A little later there is another short melody, and the double-note subject returns, and so all the material over again.

SECOND AND THIRD PROGRAMS.

The Fantasia Impromptu in C-sharp minor belongs to that cla.s.s of Chopin's works mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, in which pleasing effects are made by fluent running work, containing more or less changing notes and other forms of dissonance--running work so fast that the ear does not follow each note, but skims along the melodic thread, as it were, the general impression of an "effect" being the form of conscious delight. This kind of effect in music, which depends in part upon the persistence of the pianoforte tone after the keys are released, was original with Chopin; or, if we can not say that he fully originated, he certainly brought it to greater perfection than any of his predecessors ever did. Moreover, the runs of Chopin are more complicated and daring, yet at the same time better adapted to rapid performance than any of those by the older writers for pianoforte. In the present instance, moreover, there is a further unsettling element in the fact that against the six tones of the right hand groups, the left hand plays groups of four tones. This, which was never carried out upon so extensive a scale before, is now perfectly easy to perform, although in Chopin's time it was considered a difficulty. It serves to impart an elusiveness to the effect of the music, entirely in keeping with the name.

The place of "middle piece" in this Fantasia Impromptu is filled by a slow melody which in effect is a nocturne--quite in the manner of the middle piece in the Impromptu in A-flat. The princ.i.p.al ideas in this are also somewhat varied in their repet.i.tions, and light and delicate arabesques occur, which add to the charm. The slow part affords a repose, after which the princ.i.p.al subject returns and the whole comes to a brilliant ending by means of a coda. The entire piece is extremely characteristic of Chopin's genius.

The Scherzo in B-flat minor is more a.n.a.logous to a ballad than to any one of the varieties of piece known under this t.i.tle in the cla.s.sic works of Beethoven. It consists substantially of about four primordial elements. First there is the princ.i.p.al subject, the characteristic expression of which is due to the unexpected answer of the suggestive query of the low notes by strongly accented chords. Still in emphatic mood the second idea comes in (measure 48) with running work.

Then follows a delightful melodic idea (measure 64), which is repeated in different keys no less than five times, the entire period extending to forty-nine measures. The accompaniment of this charming melody is thoroughly Chopinesque, consisting of arpeggio figures generally covering the compa.s.s of a tenth. In spirit this pa.s.sage is much the same as that of the second idea in the Polonaise in C-sharp minor.

After the second idea there is a coda concluding this part of the work.

It is then repeated with a few very slight modifications. Then follows the middle piece, a melody in the key of A, a novel relation of keys which no doubt troubled the contemporaries of the composer more than it need us, since the key of the piece is properly D-flat, the B-flat minor predominating only at the beginning, and the first part, as well as the last, closing in D-flat major. From this to the key of A, counting by the keyboard, is a major third, and everybody knows that the major third above or below is an agreeable relation of keys; moreover, we have here the music to tell us. This middle part is mystic and truly charming. Several other ideas meet us presently, one of which, with triplets in the alto, is rather troublesome to play and still more troublesome when it occurs again near the end of the piece.

Also some very pretty running work, charmingly supported upon a ba.s.s containing considerable melody of its own. This running work is afterward given considerable development, as also is the subordinate idea already referred to characterized by the triplets in the alto, and then the first part of the piece is repeated, and so at length the end.