Chopin's Polish Ballade : Op. 38 As Narrative of National Martyrdom

Chopin's Second Ballade, Op. 38 is frequently performed, and takes only seven or so minutes to play. Yet the work remains very poorly understood--disagreement prevails on issues from its tonic and two-key structure to its posited relationship with the poems of Adam Mickiewicz. Chopin's Polish Ballade is a reexamination and close analysis of this famous work, revealing the Ballade as a piece with a powerful political story to tell. Through the general musical styles and specific references in the Ballade, which use both operatic strategies and approaches developed in programmatic piano pieces for amateurs, author Jonathan Bellman traces a clear narrative thread to contemporary French operas. His careful historical exegesis of previously ignored musical and cultural contexts brings to light a host of new insights about this remarkable piece, which, as Bellman shows, reflects the cultural preoccupations of the Polish emigres in mid-1830s Paris, pining with bitter nostalgia for a homeland now under Russian domination. This vital connection to the extramusical culture of its day forms the basis for a plausible relationship with the nationalistic poetry of Mickiewicz. Chopin's Polish Ballade also solves the long-standing conundrum of the two extant versions of the Ballade, making an important point about the flexible notion of "work" that Chopin embraced [Publisher description] Two Versions, Two Keys, And Certain Poems Of Mickiewicz -- Genesis Of A Narrative Process -- Hearing Konrad Wallenrod : The First Ballade, Op. 23 -- Op. 38 And The Genre Issue -- The Polish Pilgrims And The Operatic Imperative -- Martyrdom And Exile : The Narrative Of Chopin's F Major Ballade. Jonathan D. Bellman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Chopin's Polish Ballade examines the Second Ballade, Op. 38, and how that work gave voice to the Polish cultural preoccupations of the 1830s, using musical conventions from French opera and amateur piano music. This approach provides answers to several persistent questions about the work's form, programmatic content, and poetic inspiration. The author examines the Second Ballade, Op. 38, and how that work gave voice to the Polish cultural preoccupations of the 1830s, using musical conventions from French opera and amateur piano music. This approach provides answers to several persistent questions about the work's form, programmatic content, and poetic inspiration Two versions, two keys, and certain poems of Mickiewicz Genesis of a narrative process Hearing Konrad Wallenrod : Chopin's Ballade no. 1, op. 23 Op. 38 and the genre issue The Polish pilgrims and the operatic imperative Martyrdom and exile : the narrative of Chopin's F major ballade.