CHOPIN'S MAZURKA, OP. 17. NO.

4
Author(s): David Beach
Source: Theory and Practice, Vol. 2, No. 3 (February, 1977), pp. 12-16
Published by: Music Theory Society of New York State
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41330362
Accessed: 04-04-2018 15:22 UTC

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ANALYSIS

CHOPIN'S MAZURKA, OP. 1£, NO. Ь

by David Beach

The fol Lowing observations about Chopin's Mazurka in A minor,

Op. I7/4, were presented at the annual meeting of the Music
Theory Society of New York State last October in Binghamton.
Those who attended that session might note that a few minor re-
visions have been made in the analytic sketches. The following
comments are intended to amplify certain features of these
sketches; they do not represent a comprehensive analysis of the
piece.

Example 1 shows my interpretation of the pitch material in

mm. 1-20, including the introduction (mm. 1-^) and the first
complete statement of the main idea in the larger A section. A
detailed representation of the voice- leading is given in the
Lower graph; the sketch above it provides a simplified version
of this material.

Interpretation of the pitch material in the opening measures

is crucialto our understanding of the piece. In retrospect we
hear the pitch f, which is prolonged through measure 7, as a dis-
placement of e, the fifth of the tonic harmony, however, by the
time e is final Ly reached (m. 8), the harmony has changed. At
the same time the pitches b and d displace the third of the tonic
harmony. They resolve to с first in m. 4, and, by repetition of
the motive, again in m. 6. This establishes the basic vertical
sonority of the piece as the sixth chord. From m. 6, the high f
is attained by the compositional technique described by Schenker
as "overlapping" (Uebergreifen) .
Before describing the contents of mm. 8-20, one more matter
requires clarification» the g2 in m. 7 (the octave in relation
to the bass) must be understood as a displacement of f2 (the dis-
sonant seventh). This idea is immediately developed in the
following measures (in the chromatic descent from e2). The f^r2
in m. 9. fl|2 in m. 10 and e2 in m. 11 are displacements of e2,
( e(?2 ) and dij2 respectively. This interpretation is supported
by the octave doubling of this motion in the inner voice. Thus
the chromatic descent from e2 is accomplished by a series of 7-6
suspensions with each seventh displaced by the octave. The
vertical sonority supporting each note in this descent (through
m. 10) is the sixth chord.

Interpretation of mm. 11-1*1 aLso requires some amplification.

The inner voice on d is cLearly proLonged unti L its resoLution
to с in m. 14. However, this same motion in the meLody is some-
what obscured by the detaiL. The d2 does not appear unti i the
end of m. 12, where it is introduced by the e2 that had originaiLy

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 13

CHOPIN'S MAZURKA, OP. l?/4 (continued)

displaced it (from m. 11). The prolongation of the displaced d2
is accomplished by the unfolding of the descending third to bl .
Despite this descent (d2 to bl» and finally to al in m. 13)»
this motion must be understood as prolonging d2, which is re-
so Lved only in m. 14. Chopin, in fact, goes out of his way to
avoid closure at this point by overlapping the two phrases of
mm. 5-20 and making them a single 16-measure unit. The descent
from e2 thus arrives at c2 in m. 14 j this span is labelled "x"
for future reference. This measure, which is the same as m. 6,
is also the second measure of the varied repetition of the first
phrase.

As before f2 is attained by the technique of "overlapping,"

and it then leads to e2 as the main melodic note in m. 16. Prom
there the line descends the full span of a fifth to al, which
is supported by the first tonic harmony.

The over-all pattern of the larger A section is a a* b a*'.

Example 2 is a reduction of b (mm. 37-44) and the beginning of
a". The b section, as misrht be expected, offers relief through
contrast from the varied repetition of a and its subdivision.
Despite the obvious differences, the pitch material of b is
clearLy derived from a » As shown in the graph, the "melody" of
mm. 37-8 represent a descent from e2 to см this motion was
identified above as "x" (see 8-14). The first varied repetition
of this idea (mm. 39-40) is harmonized differently, although
still over a dominant pedal. Here the final accent of the line
faLLs on cA? rather than cfl2, possibly in anticipation of the
importance of that pitch in the larger В section. The next
varied statement returns the accent to clj2. The Line is then
continued down to bnl over the dominant in m. 43 (and repeated
in m. 44) i this extension of x is marked x* in the graph.
The descent from e2 to bl does not close to al| instead
this motion is interrupted and e2 is reinstated in m. 48 before
the finaL descent in the A section to al (m. 60). As shown in
the graph, the e2 is reached in the same manner as before. The
dotted lines show that the dz of m. 45 is prepared by the unre-
soLved d2 of the preceding two measures. The manner in which
the phrases overlap here is similar to the situation described
in mm. 11-14.

The В section (mm. 61-92) is related to the entire piece

in much the same way as b relates to section A (mm. 1-60) . The
contrast is obvious» but as before the reference to prior mate-
rial is unmistakable. The В section and its connection with
the final variant of a (mm. 93-Ю8) is shown in example 3* The
В section itself consists of four successive statements of an
8-measure idea. As before, the pitch material centers around
the third and fifth of the tonic harmony (here A major instead
of A minor). E is decorated by its upper neighbor-note f^, and

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lb

CHOPIN'S MAZURKA, OP. 1?Д (continued)

с ¡jtis prolonged by its upper neighbor d. In the "aito" voice»
c*pis decorated by both d and b, as in the opening measures.
Htfre, however, the third of the tonic harmony <0# is primary,
and it, not e, is doubled by an inner voice. The arrival at e2
in m. 6?, an octave projection of the lower voice, can be con-
sidered as a decoration of d2. Yet arriva L at this pitch and the
material, that follows immediately after it provides a fleeting
reference to the motive designated above as x*. The larger-scale
me Lodic motion is from С*2 to bl, harmonized by the tonic and
dominant chords respectively.

In the first varied repetition of this 8-measure phrase,

the fifth of the chord (e2) is emphasized by its upper neighbor-
note, dp2. But Chopin makes it perfectly clear that this pitch
is s till subordinate to <£2. That pitch alóne is harmonized by
the unembellished tonic triad in mm. 7Ì+-77, and the accent marks
are p Laced only on^ ,0#2 (twice) and its upper neighbor, d2. The
reinstatement of e2 as the main melodic note is to be saved until
Later.

The third phrase of В is the same as the first. The fourth

statement differs only at the end, where preparation is made for
the return of the opening idea and the change back to A minor.
This is accomplished by the introduction of f^f2, which is pro-
Longed through mm. 93-95 (equivalent to mm. 5-7) t as shown in
the graph. The earlier "attempts'* to arrive at e2 as the main
melodic note are finally realized in m. 96, where that pitch
once again asserts its supremacy. As shown in the graph, the
final descent from there to a* occurs in mm. 10*»- 108.

The most important features of the coda are shown in example

*♦•. As might be expected, the material of the coda is derived
from previous material. The chromatic descent from e2, harmon-
ized by parallel diminished seventh chords over a tonic pedal,
leads into an inner voice in m. II5 (and again in m. 123)* At
that point the opening motivic idea (see mm. 5-6) is stated with
d2 covering b* and c2 covering a* . Aš shown in the graph, the
larger-scale connection of the pitches d2 - c2 is from the ear-
lier e2, thus forming a descending third e2 - d2 - c2 (a reference
to x). The line is never completed) instead the lower third
(c2 - al) is stated directly (mm. 127-8). The piece then closes
with a repetition of the introductory material. By this time
the ear has no difficulty accepting the f of the final sixth
chord as a displacement of e.

There are many interesting features of this work that have

not been discussed here* Hopefully the ideas presented will
act as a stimulus for further individual investigation into
other aspects of its structure and coherence.

David W. Beach
Eastman School of Music

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16

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