Op. 2 has its dazzling moments, but its musical worth is
inferior. It is written to split the ears of the groundlings, or
rather to astonish and confuse them, for the Chopin dynamics in
the early music are never very rude. The indisputable superiority
to Herz and the rest of the shallow-pated variationists caused
Schumann's passionate admiration. It has, however, given us an
interesting page of music criticism. Rellstab, grumpy old fellow,
was near right when he wrote of these variations that "the
composer runs down the theme with roulades, and throttles and
hangs it with chains of shakes." The skip makes its appearance in
the fourth variation, and there is no gainsaying the brilliancy
and piquant spirit of the Alla Polacca. Op. 2 is orchestrally
accompanied, an accompaniment that may be gladly dispensed with,
and dedicated by Chopin to the friend of his youth, Titus
Woyciechowski.
Je Vends des Scapulaires is a tune in Herold and Halevy's
"Ludovic." Chopin varied it in his op. 12. This rondo in B flat
is the weakest of Chopin's muse.
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