We encounter sequential chords of
the seventh, and their use, rhythmically framed as they are,
gives a line of sternness to the dance. Niecks thinks that the
second Mazurka might be called The Request, so pathetic, playful
and persuasive is it. It is in E minor and has a plaintive,
appealing quality. The G major part is very pretty. In the last
lines the passion mounts, but is never shrill. Kullak notes that
in the fifth and sixth bars there is no slur in certain editions.
Klindworth employs it, but marks the B sforzando. A slur on two
notes of the same pitch with Chopin does not always mean a tie.
The A flat Mazurka, No. 3, is pessimistic, threatening and
irritable. Though in the key of E major the trio displays a
relentless sort of humor. The return does not mend matters. A
dark page! In A minor the fourth is called by Szulc the Little
Jew. Szulc, who wrote anecdotes of Chopin and collected them with
the title of "Fryderyk Szopen," told the story to Kleczynski. It
is this:
Chopin did not care for programme music, though more than one
of his compositions, full of expression and character, may be
included under that name.
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