Brief Introduction
The wonder of Chopin's music is the way he conjured new sounds from the piano. No other great composer concentrated so exclusively on one instrument as Chopin did on the piano. His pieces explore the full expressive range of the instrument, and he had the ability to create a kind of musical poetry. He poured out a steady stream of wonderfully inspired music - passionate, stormy, happy, sad, dreamily reflective, and rich in melody. Chopin is remembered as one of the first nationalist composers, using the themes and dances of his native Poland as the sources for his pieces.
On October 17, 1849, the heart of one of the most ardent patriots and the most famous geniuses ceased to beat. Descending from a modest family, son of a member of the Kosciuszko Insurrection[1], Frederic Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, a village near Warsaw, and with all the strength of his warm feelings fell in love with his Fatherland. Unusually sensitive on the beauty, both of the nature and the achievements of the national culture, from his very childhood Chopin knew how to transform the subtleties of the Polish spirit into enchanting sounds of music - the ideas and sufferings of the nation, its endeavors, aspirations and hopes.
Physically weak, Chopin was a giant by his spirit. He grew on the foundation of Polish sentimentalism and romanticism, but he did not limit his nativity to a mere incarnation of these features into the wonderful world of tones. He was a creator who felt and experienced pain and sorrow for millions. Purely Sarmatian[2] motives - popular in the mazurkas[3] and aristocratic in the polonaises[4] - were elevated by him to the heights of harmony and artistic expression in the way nobody could do it previously. While they did not lose anything from their Polish character, they worked in the direction of purification of the human soul everywhere. There is no human being having at least a touch of sensitivity and ability to appreciate the beauty who would not be deeply impressed and moved by the music of Chopin. It is so unique and different from the masterpieces of all other masters of music, that in spite of the fact that it influenced many composers and that a great number of them tried to imitate it, it remains something quite exceptional and unparalleled in the history of the world culture. Every passage in the compositions of Chopin is Chopinian - it cannot be falsified or replaced.
Not only the mazurkas and polonaises of Chopin were an expression of Polish spirit. He was an incarnation of the national genius, and, with a few exceptions, he could not - and did not want to - forsake the Polish motives in other of his masterpieces, be it the Revolutionary Etiude[5], composed when the news about the beginning of the "November Uprising"[6] against the Russians reached Chopin, or the nocturnes[7], expressing his deep nostalgia caused by the necessary exile from his oppressed land which he had to leave, escaping from Russian persecution. And in spite of the fact that connoisseurs of music early recognized his unusual talent and originality, the great master went through difficult times abroad. Some concerts in Paris did not live up to expectations and he had to earn his living by giving piano lessons.
A person whose soul was the reflection of the soul of a tortured and suffering nation could not be happy. Thus, most of his compositions are sad, similarly to the fate of his country. However, from time to time some more cheerful tones may be heard, tones of the Polish eagerness to live which may be driven under the surface by harsh realities, but not obliterated; tones of protest and rebellion; tones of hope, and certainty that a better future is forthcoming.
Therefore, a full understanding of Chopin may be experienced only by a few individuals besides the Poles[8] - Poles who, to use the expression of Dmowski[9], live by the life of their nation "by all the broad side of their soul", who know its history, traditions and endeavors, who in every passage of Chopin's music discover a connection with the feelings and experiences of the Polish nation. Therefore a great composer Schumann[10], who understood Chopin's music, said: "This is a cannon hidden under flowers; if the Northern autocrat[11] knew what an enemy threatens him even in most simple melodies of the mazurkas - he would damn this music." For this reason, soon after the invasion of Poland in 1939 by the Teutonic[12] hordes, the German occupants prohibited to play Chopin... Again for this reason, when Chopin himself created compositions independent from his Polish character, for instance in the Italian "Tarantella"[13], the result was pleasant but not reaching the pinnacle of the artistic achievement.
However, the melodies of Chopin, grown on the background of the Polish spirit, conquered the whole world, found their way under the roofs of all music lovers, and became favorite selections of concert programs. The disarmed Polish nation fought with them, used them to promote the interest and sympathy for its country and to gain the hearts for the Polish cause.
Chopin's music continues to be - and will be forever - the most outstanding creation of human genius and a bloodless but potent weapon of Polonism, requesting justice for its own nation and the others.
1. Why could Chopin make the piano sound more truly romantic and poetic than anybody else?
2. Do you know that Chopin was buried in Paris but he asked that Polish soil be sprinkled over his grave? If you have ever listened to Chopin’s pieces, can you see his national allegiance in his music?
3. Can music be used as a weapon in the struggle for the freedom and independence of one’s nation?
Notes
1. Kosciuszko Insurrection: Kosciuszko, Thaddeus (1746-1817), Polish national hero and military leader. In 1794, following the second partition (1793) of Poland, by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, he led a rebellion for Polish independence known as Kosciuszko Insurrection. He was defeated and wounded. This defeat ended the Polish uprising. Kosciusko was held prisoner in 1796 and then exiled.
2. Sarmatian: Member of a people originally of Iranian stock who migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains between the 6th and 4th century BC and eventually settled in most of southern European Russia and the eastern Balkans. (萨尔马提亚的；萨尔马提亚人的，位于古时东欧地区维斯杜拉河和伏尔加河之间)
3. mazurkas: Polish folk dance for a circle of couples, characterized by stamping feet and clicking heels and traditionally danced to the music of bagpipes. (玛祖卡舞, 波兰一种节奏轻快活泼类似波尔卡的舞蹈, 常被作为一种芭蕾舞形式采用。肖邦共创作有55首玛祖卡舞曲。)
4. polonaises: A courtly processional dance for couples arranged in line by rank. It is the national dance of Poland, known since at least 1645. The step is slow and gliding, and the dance has several figures, including the exchange of partners. (波兰舞，或译“波洛涅兹舞”, 一种庄重、行军般的波兰舞蹈。肖邦一生创作有13首波兰舞曲，以作品40号“军队”波兰舞和作品53号“英雄”波兰舞最为著名。)
5. Revolutionary Etiude: “革命”练习曲，又名“华沙的陷落”。肖邦1831年旅居德国斯图加特，惊闻祖国起义失败，俄军重占华沙，忧愤难抑，乃写成此曲。肖邦一生共作有24 首练习曲。
6. November Uprising: (1830-1831) Poland revolted against its Russian rulers. The uprising failed, and as a result the Russian czar put Warsaw under harsh military rule.
7. nocturnes: 夜曲，原意使人想起夜间情景的音乐作品，旋律如夜一般的寂静，似梦一般的幽雅。肖邦为钢琴共写有21首夜曲。
8. Poles: People of Polish descent (波兰人)
9. Dmowski: Roman Dmowski (1864-1939) Polish political leader. As an active leader of the National Democratic Party, Dmowski is regarded as champion of Polish independence before 1918.
10. Schumann: (Robert Alexander Schumann, 1801—1856). A German composer of romantic music in many forms, including piano pieces, orchestral music, and lieder. (舒曼，德国音乐家，德国浪漫乐派领袖人物之一，其音乐创作以感情丰富著称。)
11. Northern autocrat：the Russian tsar（俄国沙皇）
12. Teutonic: 日耳曼人的
13. Tarantella: 塔兰台拉舞(曲) (意大利南部地区的一种轻快的民间舞) |
