But besides this, I have had the advantage of hearing most
of these Etudes played by Chopin himself, and quite a la
Chopin did he play them!"
Of the first one especially he writes: "Imagine that an
aeolian harp possessed all the musical scales, and that the
hand of an artist were to cause them all to intermingle in all
sorts of fantastic embellishments, yet in such a way as to
leave everywhere audible a deep fundamental tone and a soft
continuously-singing upper voice, and you will get the right
idea of his playing. But it would be an error to think that
Chopin permitted every one of the small notes to be distinctly
heard. It was rather an undulation of the A flat major chord,
here and there thrown aloft anew by the pedal. Throughout all
the harmonies one always heard in great tones a wondrous
melody, while once only, in the middle of the piece, besides
that chief song, a tenor voice became prominent in the midst
of chords. After the Etude a feeling came over one as of
having seen in a dream a beatific picture which when half
awake one would gladly recall.
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