Who does not know the A minor
Mazurka of op. 17, dedicated to Lena Freppa? Itwas already
known in our country as the "Little Jew" before the departure
of our artist abroad. It is one of the works of Chopin which
are characterized by distinct humor. A Jew in slippers and a
long robe comes out of his inn, and seeing an unfortunate
peasant, his customer, intoxicated, tumbling about the road
and uttering complaints, exclaims from his threshold, "What is
this?" Then, as if by way of contrast to this scene, the gay
wedding party of a rich burgess comes along on its way from
church, with shouts of various kinds, accompanied in a lively
manner by violins and bagpipes. The train passes by, the tipsy
peasant renews his complaints--the complaints of a man who had
tried to drown his misery in the glass. The Jew returns
indoors, shaking his head and again asking, "What was this?"
The story strikes one as being both childish and commonplace. The
Mazurka is rather doleful and there is a little triplet of
interrogation standing sentinel at the fourth bar.
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