Chopin Ballades & Fantasies
The form of Chopin´s compositions cannot be analyzed without understanding their content. Thus all attempts to analyze them only from the outside will take you nowhere. To understand the structure of his compositions requires unyielding ability to absorb and live the internal changes of the work. All rigid means for splitting his compositions or longer phrases and indifferent transitions will violate the performance. Chopin himself warned his pupils not to fragment the musical ideas, but advised them to carry the music to the listeners in one long breath. When demonstrating his own works, he usually delivered the whole composition from beginning to end.
Chopin´s melodies escape motive analysis and therefore excessive analytical fragmenting of themes would easily lead to a similar situation as if we claimed that "as in the words elegant and elephant, the syllables el-e can be found in both, hence the words are related to each other". Consequently, the musical language of Chopin must be comprehended before trying to analyze it.
An interesting fact is, that when performing Chopin´s works, there is a great danger for the performer to be so overwhelmed by the beauty of the melodies and the subtle and rapid changes of colour and mood, that the overall musical structure can easily be ruined by over-interpretation of musical details. Maybe it is these too mushy and spineless performance traditions that have resulted in some underrating of Chopin´s music. My personal opinion is that Chopin´s musical forms, carrying in their framework deep human emotions and poetry, are among the top achievements of mankind.
When executed with a modern piano, the works played on this record are even more demanding than they were in Chopin´s time. The mechanics of the grand piano in those times was much lighter and the depth of keys lower than today. Still going on today, at that time very competitive tendencies were emerging, where the instrumental compositions were filled with more and more demanding technical components. The only purpose seemed to be to "drop the pianist" or to defeat another composer by creating still trickier and almost impossible virtuosic episodes; in the end the composers themselves could not execute their own work. For the benefit of music, Chopin´s virtuosic episodes act as outlets for the outbursting feelings that have cumulated in the entire composition. However, this makes these parts even more difficult to such an extent, that this powerful emotional charge may even disturb the execution.
After the Russian invasion of Poland, the meaning of the old national country dance, polonaise, became especially loaded with patriotic feelings among the Polish who lost their homeland. Chopin´s Polonaise-Fantasy op. 61 has developed as far as possible from the traditional polonaise ABA-structure. The trio-structure has, however, been preserved in relation to tempo. The first and the last sections are in the "polonaise-A-tempo" and the mid-section in the tranquil "nocturne-B-tempo". There are two main themes in the composition: the first A-flat major polonaise theme is repeated, though modulated, several times. The second B-major theme of the "trio-section" has been derived directly from the ascending and descending major second of the polonaise theme. It is accompanied by the arpeggio figure of the introduction. The two main themes are repeated in sequence in the tonic in the final culmination triumph, where the bright B-major of the trio flashes briefly but ever so joyously. In the Polonaise-Fantasy there are also beautiful mazurka-like bridge episodes together with the amazing arpeggios with a fermata in the introduction. They ascend like a mist from the rhythmic core motif of the polonaises, flowing then downwards modulating with a major second and being repeated also in the end of the slower "trio section- B". The value and main thread of the work is the long explication span which discharges in the fortissimo proclamation in the end. This is one of Chopin´s most spectacular one.
Chopin was the first to implement the term ?ballade? in instrumental music. It had already been used in poetry
and reciting usually referring to a sinister and tragic event. The composer is very true to the ballade tradition in his
four ballades, thus they all are in tranquil, dance-like, sixfold-time: alternations between ?chanter? and ?chorus?
can be depicted, as well as likeness to the rondo-form. The ballades are obvious stories in a musical form.
The wistful main theme of the first Ballade is the great public?s favourite. Hopes and dreams express themselves
in the counter theme, which has as its tail a modification of the main motif of the main theme in major .In the
scherzando-section one can even hear something amusing. In the ending coda the tempo irrevocably returns to
the two-part time of the introduction, and reality, even deadly, crushes the dreams. In the very end of the coda the
main motif has become an agonizing ?last question? alternating with fragments of a funeral march. G-minor was
a relatively uncommon key for Chopin. He was composing the 24 etudes at the same time, and it?s notable that none
of the etudes emerge in the keys of the g-minor triad.
In the second ballade extremely opposed emotions and elements alternate, and the composition is dedicated
to Robert Schumann who was plagued and distressed by his bipolar personality. Schumann himself liked to give
descriptive names to his works and claims that Chopin had admitted that this composition has been inspired by a
balladic poem of the Polish poet Mickiewicz. In this poem the maidens of a sunken Lithuanian town had been turned
into water lilies in order to hide them from the Russian troops and obvious dishonour. According to this story, whoever
disturbs the solitude of the water lilies in the lake would soon be dead. The tender sicilienne-like theme rolling in
F-major is interrupted twice by a fierce Presto con fuoco -theme in minor, until the first theme bellowing in octaves
in the left hand, now in minor ,and expressing the ?anger of the water lilies?, leads into the wild climax. The sad and
unhurt flower theme completes the work.
The third ballade is the brightest of the four, and the only one that ends in a major key. The ballade is sophisticated
and elegant and rhythmically delicious: dotted rhythms, syncopes and rests bring breathers and breaks. In the first material one could imagine hearing hunting horns. Then again the counter material with its modality and rhythm,
could give an idea of a fatally seductive but also dangerous mythical creature, i.e. a water nymph rocking on the
waves. Supporting the historians? statement of the inspirational connection to the Mickiewicz?s poem of the hunter
and the undine, this association could be at least partially true. However, Chopin was far too great a composer to write
programme music; neither does his music need any external explanations to be understood. Furthermore, the bright
ending of the A-flat major ballade does not tally with the tragic poem of Mickiewicz at all. It seems as if Chopin, with
a twinkle of irony in his eye, had composed his own ?undine ballade? where there is no poor man drowned in the end!
Amid the thorough introduction of the ?undine material? appears also a semiquaver figured third material which
later combines modified as a counterpoint-theme to the sad latter part of the ?undine theme?. Above the semiquaver
pedal point accompaniment, first and second themes unite mounting to a climax where the first theme followed by
the third material both triumph over in the end.
The principal character in the fourth ballade seems to be no longer the storyteller himself or the very touching
incident happened a long time ago. Or, unlike in the first ballade, the composer finally appears to be at peace with the
suffering that is the inevitable reverse side of love. Very often the analysts forcibly try to find a sonata form in works
where it doesn?t exist. However, in the fourth ballade the sonata form is realized magnificently. The introduction
gives a premonition of a heavenly chime. The first theme is massively long but still holds together as the emphasis
of the phrase is shifted alternately from the beginning of the bar to the half bar and then back again. The theme is
interrupted by a dreamy foreshadowing episode of the upcoming second theme. The first theme is beautiful enough
to support the three repetitions and variations of the ?exposition?. Through a natural episode of crisis a more hopeful
counter theme in subdominant is reached, the phrase structure of which is surprisingly long unity as well. In addition
to the scherzando and the fragments of the first theme, the ?development? includes a reappearance of the theme
from the introduction. For a moment it seems as if the piece begins anew in d-minor, but a fumbling fugato section,
where the first theme in canon in three voices concludes with ?recapitulation? in the tonic. The beautiful variation
of the main theme prepares us for the second appearance of the bright counter theme, this time even more romantic
and a third higher than the first time. Now it receives a new melodic tail and continues through a convincing
cadence towards the unavoidable collapse back to f-minor. What happens next? What do those soft, long major chords
mean appearing in the harmonies of the introduction in dominant? Are they the solution and source of light in this
piece? After a four-bar-long C-major chord the final coda rolls the gloom of the f-minor in the technically difficult
conclusion even with texture liken to Bach. The tragical ending of this ballade is penetrated by love, not despair. The
final culmination in minor is, in fact, a victory.
Almost in all Chopin?s works there is at least a fragment of some Polish folk tune, or an element that refers to his native country. Chopin liked to improvise on existing themes; this time in the f-minor Fantasy there are
quotations from two patriotic marches by the Polish Karol Kurpinski. As if he wanted to show to his contemporary
colleague, Chopin models the rebellion song themes of the latter into one of his finest works in the sense of composing
technique.
Usually Chopin seems to have invented his melodies as if they had just been given him from heaven. Therefore
the various themes appearing in his works cannot necessarily be analytically derived from each other. However, the
Fantasy op. 49 is different from the rest of his works. The aesthetic value of the work doesn?t lie in the melodies,
as usually is the case with Chopin, but in a brilliant motif-development. He uses a few quoted core motives, which
he varies: same intervals appear in various rhythms, keys and moods. The name ?Fantasy? is somewhat misleading
because the composition is a most organized one. After the march-introduction, the Fantasy can be divided in three
harmonic sections, where there is a slow B-major ?prayer-area? between the second and third sections. This ?choral?
section works as a substitute for the tumultuous octave- and military march-area, that otherwise would have had to
replace it , if the three main harmonic sections had been identical.
The main motives, a downward fourth and the subsequent descending scale quoted from the rebellion march
The Lithuanianess by Kurpinski, appear simultaneously already in the first two bars of the introduction . Fantasy
swings hesitatingly in motion with a triplet modification of the opening tunes of The Lithuanianess in minor.
The main motives then spring up in a passionate agitation song accompanied by triplets, as well as in a ?military
march? in major, where again the accompaniment is a modification in major of the theme from the Kurpinski´s
Campers? March. The fourth main motif is also adapted from the The Lithuanianess -march and appears firstly in
the introduction, then in doublenotes accompanied by triplets .An amazing choral song resounds in the mid-section
of the piece, where the main motif?s descending fourth has transferred into a descending minor third followed again
by the descending scale. This same choral also triumphs in the A-flat major recitative-passage in the very end of
the piece.
The struggle of f-minor and A-flat major resulting in the victory of the latter in the end creates on its part the
noble atmosphere in this work. With its majesty and heroism, the Fantasy is invincible among the works of Chopin.
Its patriotic pathos verges on divine and witnesses the Polish national spirit which has always been strongly connected
to religiosity.
Anne Kauppi English translation Sari Koppanen
Chopin Etudes cd (Alba),liner notes
Information and analysis of the Chopin Etudes
Taulu-Kuutamo Antskogin ruukilla /Jussi Vaarala.Taiteilijan luvalla
Ligeti and
Stenhammar,Palmgren,Sibelius,Englund,Eero Kesti