<glacius:metadata>

    <title>Chopin's Mazurkas - Part 6</title>

    <description>Once again I listen to Chopin's Mazurkas (part 6)</description>

    <category>Piano</category>

    <category>Music</category>

    <category>Classical music</category>

    <category>Chopin</category>

    <series order="36">2022 music project</series>

    <series order="6">Reviewing Chopin's mazurkas</series>

</glacius:metadata>

<p>

    I don't have a lot of time this week so 

    <glacius:link page="music/projects/chopin-mazurkas-part-5">once again</glacius:link>

    I'll talk to myself about Chopin's mazurakas. 

    This week I'm up to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazurkas,_Op._41_(Chopin)">Opus 41</a>.

    This will take my only halfway through my mazurkas book :(

</p>

<h2>Quatre Mazurkas</h2>

<p>For <em>à Mr. E. Witwicki</em>.</p>

<h3>Op. 41, No. 1 in C&#x266f; minor</h3>

<p>

    Some interesting harmonies to start this one out. Some kind of Phyrgian thing with

    the C♯m → D chord progression. Eventually it transitions to a major theme with

    a bit of a deceptive cadence.

</p>

<glacius:grid cols="2">

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no1-main-theme.png" type="image">

            <caption>Main theme of Op. 41 No. 1</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no1-deceptive-major.png" type="image">

            <caption>Mildly deceptive cadence leads to the B section in C&#x266f; major</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

</glacius:grid>

<p>

    The C (or maybe D, I lost count) section has some call-and-response back-and-forth

    between the left- and right-hands as it modulates to A major. That then transitions 

    back to the main theme, except in a major key, and that D chord makes more sense

    within the F♯m harmonic scale.

</p>

<glacius:grid cols="2">

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no1-call-and-response.png" type="image">

            <caption>Call and response between LH and RH</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no1-main-theme-major.png" type="image">

            <caption>Main theme revisited, this time in a major key</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

</glacius:grid>

<p>

    Some mazurka-ish/Hungarian dance-ish dotted-eighth/sixteenth patterns follow, 

    And finally the main theme is revisited loudly in octaves, before ending in

    a depressing funeral march waltz. Of sorts.

</p>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no1-funeral-ending.png" type="image">

    <caption>A nice funeral dirge ends Op. 41, No. 1</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<h3>Op. 41, No. 2 in E minor</h3>

<p>

    This one has an interesting start. Originally I thought this was in A minor

    until I actually looked at the key signature. It's in E minor but starts

    on an E7 chord. Then it's repeated down a fourth which gets to E minor.

</p>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no2-start.png" type="image">

    <caption>Op. 41, No. 2 is in E minor but begins in E major</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no2-accidentals.png" type="image">

    <caption>Lots of accidentals lead to a louder recapitulation</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<p>

    This one is all slow and sad and feels like it would have been part of a movie

    soundtrack at some point. Like something depressing like a war movie in a scene

    showing a montage of the destructive aftermath. Like "look at all the senseless

    killing. We've won the war, but at what cost?"

    <br />

    <br />

    I looked but it appears no one has done that, yet.

</p>

<h3>Op. 41, No. 3 in B major</h3>

<p>

    This one has a unique beginning. Some fast unison scales/arpeggios are featured.

    Haven't seen that kind of thing in the mazurkas yet.

</p>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no3-start.png" type="image">

    <caption>Unison scales early on in Op. 41, No. 3</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<p>

    And then Chopin was all "B major sucks, how about E♭ instead?" I'm sure there's

    some music theory explanation for that transition. I guess the scalar runs ends on

    a D♯, so he was like "yeah, that's the same as E♭ let's use that note".

</p>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no3-eflat.png" type="image">

    <caption>The same scalar run but transitions to E&#x266d;</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<p>

    And then he throws a curveball but ending that same run on a D♮ which gives

    him an excuse to transition to D major.

</p>

<glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no3-dmajor.png" type="image">

    <caption>And another modulation from the same scalar pattern, this time to D major</caption>

</glacius:figure>

<p>

    Overall this one is pretty fun. Kinda reminiscient of some of Chopin's waltzes.

</p>

<h3>Op. 41, No. 4 in A&#x266d; major</h3>

<p>

    This one is also very waltzy to start out. Eventually there's a picardy 3rd

    and now we're in C major.

</p>

<glacius:grid cols="2">

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no4-start.png" type="image">

            <caption>Starts out very waltzy</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

    <div>

        <glacius:figure glacius:src="36-chopin-mazurkas-op41-no4-picardy.png" type="image">

            <caption>An eventual Picardy 3rd transitions to C major</caption>

        </glacius:figure>

    </div>

</glacius:grid>

<p>

    Not much more to say about this one. It's short and sweet and basically a waltz.

</p>