Chopin's Mazurkas - Part 9 @ r5
Opus 63 brings a close to this series. Technically there are the posthumous mazurkas but after this I'll have listened to and vaguely analyzed 41 of Chopin's mazurkas and frankly, that's enough for a lifetime.
Trois Mazurkas
For à Madame la Comtesse L. Czosnowska.
Op. 63, No. 1 in B major
Starts off very minuet-ish with lots of passing tones in 3rds.
The beginning is fairly straightforward until a little modulation into E and then E♭, which ends with another one of those "spelling ties" that I enjoy so much.
The B section kind of reminds me of Return to the Heart by David Lanz 1, since the first beats match rhythm and tone and are in the same key. Op. 63 No. 3 also starts very similarly.
The coda has a nice little vibe with switching the beat from 3 → 2 and a little chromaticism in the right hand.
Op. 63, No. 1 in F minor
I liked the parallels in the main theme between the first eight measures and the last eight measures. The first eight in C and the second eight end in F minor with similar passages.
The B section has a nice little fugue-esque countermelody as it kind of almost rotates around the circle of fifths.
Overall very short and sweet. This was like the perfect length for a mazurka: very little monotony or repetition. Just some nice melodies.
Op. 63, No. 1 in C♯ minor
The main theme features the classic V
of the V
progression, going D♯ → G♯ → C♯m.
The return to the A section throws in a little deceptive cadence/picardy 3rd
with a transition to C♯ instead of C♯m. Which then of course leads
to the V
of the V
to get us back to the tonic.
And it comes to a close with some truly Liszt-esque jumps. And also a left-hand crossover just to impress your audience, I guess.
- Earlier this year I recorded some of his pieces