Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary School

Frederic Chopin

Alicia De Jong
May 3 2010
 Frederic Francois Chopin was born in 1810 in Poland. He was known was the

“poet of piano”. His music is based on the art of the Romantic Era. Chopin, who is

considered the national composer of Poland, was half French. His father immigrated to

Warsaw and married a French lady-in-waiting. Frederic was educated at the

Conservatory of Warsaw and at the age of twenty-one he moved to Paris, were he spend

the rest of his career. Chopin moved with a circle of also

very well known and talented musicians such as Liszt

and Berlioz and literary figures such as Victor Hugo and

George Sand. For the next eight years, Chopin spent his

summers at Sand’s (“George Sand” is an alias used by

Aurore Deudevant in order to be respected as an author)

estate at Nahant where she entertained many writers

and artists. These eight years where extremely productive for Frederic, even though his

health was beginning to grow progressively worse. As time passed, Chopin’s

relationship with Sand changed from love, to conflict, to jealousy and hostility, until they

finally parted ways. Chopin died of tuberculosis in Paris at the age of thirty-nine. Many

joined together to pay their respects to him at his funeral. Chopin bid farewell to the

sound of his own funeral march, from his Piano Sonata in B-flat minor.

In the Romantic Era, music drastically changed. The barriers and restrictions that

had been blindly put on music had been lifted. The style went from very structured to

free and more emotional. Chopin was one of the most original artists of the 19 th century.

Chopin’s style was unique and completely his own. Chopin is credited with creating the

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modern piano style. His imagination stretched passed the limitations of a keyboard.

Chopin used patterns in his melodies such as, trills, grace notes, runs, and the damper

pedal. He used the tools to prolong single tones and widely spaced chords in the bass. A

piece of advice that Chopin told his students when writing music was “Everything must

be made to sing” (Forney, 342).

Chopin’s works, such as nocturnes (night songs), are melancholic and meditative.

His preludes are visionary fragments, with some only a page in length. Many of Chopin’s

preludes only contain three of four lines. The etudes are heard as music that has been

transformed into poetry, as they are filled with imagery and peaceful melodies. Chopin

also wrote pieces that had been derived from Polish dances, such as polonaises. Some of

Chopin’s larger works are the four ballads; The Sonatas in B minor and in B-flat minor,

and the two piano concertos. These works are all thoroughly Romantic in spirit and

capture the essence of Chopin’s originality and talent.

One of Chopin’s most heroic works is the Military Polonaise in A major. It’s triple-

meter rhythm and sectional form is derived from the traditional Polish dance, which

resembles minuet and trio structure. Musician Liszt describes this work as “designed to

all draw attention to the men and to gain admiration for their beauty, their fine arts, their

martial and courteous appearance” (343). This polonaise is played with a more lyrical

theme, using bold rhythmic chords and widely displaced octave, as the unrelenting

rhythm continues to build to fortissimo, leading to a return or a stately march. Chopin’s

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 music also depends on tempo rubato (robbed time), which is a characteristic of Romantic

Style.

Polonaise in
A major
(Military)

{Dotted and disjunct rhythm, with a large

bass-range and wide dynamics}

Chopin is also famous a set of 24 preludes that had been inspired by Bach’s Well-

Tempered Clavier. In these preludes, Chopin displays a variety of forms and textures. The

works in this 24 set are arranged to be played as a cycle, which offers contrast, tension

and release. These works though, can also be played individually.

One of the most well known preludes in this set is Prelude in E minor, Op.28 No.4.

This piece, though simple, shows Chopin’s power to achieve great amounts of

expressiveness with the simplest of melodies. The music is gentle and mournful, but

slowly begins to build to a climax using bold leaps and strong dynamics. This beautiful

piece has been heard, and has become even more famous in the movie The Notebook.

Prelude in E
minor, Op. 28 No.
4 Prelude in E
minor, Op. 28
No. 4

{The first four measures of Prelude in E 4

minor- Slurred notes, played softly and
expressively}
{The climax of Prelude in E minor-
Uses a high range of notes in the bass
clef and strong dynamics to create
tension. In the third measure, begins a
“relief” after the tension.}

Frederic Chopin’s principle works include works for piano and orchestra,

including two concertos. His piano music including 4 ballads, [Fantasy in F minor,

Berceuse, Barcolle], 3 sonatas, preludes, etudes, mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes,

polonaises, impromptus, scherzos, rondos, marches and variations. Chopin also

wrote chamber music for piano.

Chopin is known for defining the way people looked at music, following the

Classical era. The classical era was filled with restrictions and boundaries. Chopin broke

down those barriers and created his own, unique style that is still emulated in music

today. Chopin describes his composition of music by saying “"Sometimes I can only groan,

suffer, and pour out my despair at the piano!" (www.ourchopin.com). Chopin also gives

advice to his students of music saying, “In order to be a great composer, one needs an

enormous amount of knowledge, which… one does not acquire from listening only to other

people’s work, but even more from listening to one’s own” (www.laphil.com). If not for

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Frederic Francios Chopin, the art of piano in the Romantic Era would not have been as

memorable.

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 Works Cited

"About the Composer - Frédéric Chopin | LA Phil." Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt
Disney Concert Hall | LA Phil. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://www.laphil.com/music/artist-
detail.cfm?id=177>.

 "Chopin : Quotes." CHOPIN : THE POET OF THE PIANO. Web. 03 May 2010.
<http://www.ourchopin.com/quotes.html>.

Forney, Kristine, and Joseph Machlis. The Enjoyment of Music. New York: W. W. Norton,
2008. Print.

Kuhn, Laura. “Frederic Chopin” Student Encyclopedia of Music” 1999.

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