Frederic Chopin

The celebration of music talent should be a compulsory culture observed around the world. Music is a divine gift and when we recognise a talent who through hard work and perseverance blessed our ears with their talent, their names should not only be written in the sands of time but should be carried on in our hearts and minds forever.

Frederic Chopin, born 1^st March 1810, was a Polish composer who is reputable for composing songs primarily for piano. In this article, we will be examining Frederic Chopin’s life and music which, is described by many as captivating and delicately graceful.

Chopin’s music is in a class of its own. He carefully combines a light, flexible playing style which is delicate and is able to reflect different layers of emotion. Unlike most musicians in his era, Chopin’s preferred to hold his performances in more private settings than in large concert halls.

Frederic Chopin’s journey to becoming one of the world’s famous music composers began at age seven when he published his first music composition. This was followed by his first performance at the age of eight.

The melodies contained in Chopin’s works are insightful, touching, electrifying and grand. The harmonies create subtle shades of color, and give the music a fragile feeling. This attempt to describe Chopin’s music falls short to the true beauty of the music when listened to. Chopin’s music is sometimes dark, liquid, gracefully refined, and thoughtful. Chopin unlike most music composers of his era did not readily name his music as he was averse to the idea. Although most publishers added them without his approval.

Chopin music tapped immensely from a rhythmic technique called Rubato which, is evident in almost all of his music. Rubato signals the reduction or increase in the melody of a music according to the flow of the music. His nocturnes in particular sound really great with rubato but the pace of the music often balanced it out, so in the end, the piece no longer appears as lengthy or as short as it were when you play it without any Rubato. Different performers utilize Rubato differently. Although the preference for most performers is very light Rubato and very heavy Rubato is usually employed for climaxes or tension-filled moments.

Frederic Chopin also made the use of characteristic chromaticism popular. Although the concept is related to color, Chopin infused it in his music to create very thoughtful and inky moods. He infuses elements described as chromatic runs all over the place. They may be tricky to play, but very fun.

Some of Frederic Chopin’s music include “Black Key” Etude, Op. 10 No. 5, “Revolutionary” Etude, Op. 10 No. 12, “Butterfly” Etude, Op. 25, No. 9, “Winter Wind” Etude, Op. 25, No. 11, Funeral March (from the slow movement of Sonata No. 2), “Heroic” Polonaise in A flat Major, Op. 53, Berceuse (lullaby), and Op. 57, “Minute” Waltz, Op. 64 No. 1.