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 (G → D → G → C → F).

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.

1. Earlier this year I recorded some of his pieces