Chopin was born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress Poland. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising. At 21, he settled in Paris. Thereafter—in the last 18 years of his life—he gave only 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by giving piano lessons, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his other musical contemporaries (including Robert Schumann). In 1835, Chopin obtained French citizenship. After a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin (known by her pen name, George Sand). A brief and unhappy visit to Majorca with Sand in 1838–39 would prove one of his most productive periods of composition. In his final years, he was supported financially by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. For most of his life, Chopin was in poor health. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis.
All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. Most are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and some 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. His piano writing was technically demanding and expanded the limits of the instrument: his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Chopin invented the concept of the instrumental ballade. His major piano works also include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, études, impromptus, scherzos, preludes and sonatas, some published only posthumously. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of J.S. Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, and the atmosphere of the Paris salons of which he was a frequent guest. His innovations in style, harmony, and musical form, and his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout and after the late Romantic period.
Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest superstars, his (indirect) association with political insurrection, his high-profile love-life, and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of varying historical fidelity.
Over 230 works of Chopin survive; some compositions from early childhood have been lost. All his known works involve the piano, and only a few range beyond solo piano music, as either piano concertos, songs or chamber music.
Chopin was educated in the tradition of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart and Clementi; he used Clementi's piano method with his own students. He was also influenced by Hummel's development of virtuoso, yet Mozartian, piano technique. He cited Bach and Mozart as the two most important composers in shaping his musical outlook. Chopin's early works are in the style of the "brilliant" keyboard pieces of his era as exemplified by the works of Ignaz Moscheles, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, and others. Less direct in the earlier period are the influences of Polish folk music and of Italian opera. Much of what became his typical style of ornamentation (for example, his fioriture) is taken from singing. His melodic lines were increasingly reminiscent of the modes and features of the music of his native country, such as drones.
Chopin took the new salon genre of the nocturne, invented by the Irish composer John Field, to a deeper level of sophistication. He was the first to write ballades and scherzi as individual concert pieces. He essentially established a new genre with his own set of free-standing preludes (Op. 28, published 1839). He exploited the poetic potential of the concept of the concert étude, already being developed in the 1820s and 1830s by Liszt, Clementi and Moscheles, in his two sets of studies (Op. 10 published in 1833, Op. 25 in 1837).
Chopin also endowed popular dance forms with a greater range of melody and expression. Chopin's mazurkas, while originating in the traditional Polish dance (the mazurek), differed from the traditional variety in that they were written for the concert hall rather than the dance hall; as J. Barrie Jones puts it, "it was Chopin who put the mazurka on the European musical map." The series of seven polonaises published in his lifetime (another nine were published posthumously), beginning with the Op. 26 pair (published 1836), set a new standard for music in the form. His waltzes were also written specifically for the salon recital rather than the ballroom and are frequently at rather faster tempos than their dance-floor equivalents.
Śpiew z mogiły
Frédéric Chopin Lyrics
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Co wyrosło wolne
Znad mogiły śpiewa
Jakieś ptaszę polne
Nie było nie było
Polsko dobrze tobie
Wszystko się przyśniło
Popalone sioła
Rozwalone miasta
A w polu dokoła
Zawodzi niewiasta
Wszyscy poszli z domu
Wzięli z sobą kosy
Robić nie ma komu
W polu giną kłosy
Kiedy pod Warszawą
Dziatwa się zbierała
Zdało się że z sławą
Wyjdzie Polska cała
Bili zimę całą
Bili się przez lato
Lecz w jesieni za to
I dziatwy nie stało
Skończyły się boje
Ale pusta praca
Bo w zagony swoje
Nikt z braci nie wraca
Jednych ziemia gniecie
A inni w niewoli
A inni po świecie
Bez chaty i roli
Ni pomocy z nieba
Ani z ludzkiej ręki
Pusta leży gleba
Darmo kwitną wdzięki
Leci liście z drzewa
Znów leci z drzewa
O
Polska kraino
Gdyby ci rodacy
Co za ciebie giną
Wzięli się do pracy
I po garstce ziemi
Z Ojczyzny zabrali
Już by dłońmi swymi
Polskę usypali
Lecz wybić się siłą
To dla nas już dziwy
Bo zdrajców przybyło
A lud zbyt poczciwy
These lyrics are from Frédéric Chopin's song, "Spiew Z Mogilki," which translates to "Song from the Gravesite" in English. The song reflects on the struggles and hardships faced by Poland and its people during a turbulent time. The opening lines describe leaves falling from a tree and singing from above a grave, suggesting a somber and melancholic atmosphere. The lyrics lament the state of Poland, expressing the belief that everything has been a dream, while the children of the nation lie in graves.
The song depicts burned villages, destroyed cities, and a wailing woman in the fields, symbolizing the devastation and suffering experienced by the Polish people. It touches on the theme of emigration, as people leave their homes, taking their scythes with them, but there is no one left to work in the fields, resulting in the loss of crops. The lyrics mention the gathering of the youth near Warsaw, with hopes of bringing glory to Poland, but despite their fights against winter and summer, there is no sign of their children coming back in the fall.
The song portrays a sense of despair, with the end of battles but empty work. Some are crushed by the land, others are in captivity, and still others wander the world without shelter or land. It suggests that there is no help from heaven or from the hands of people. The land lies empty, with flowers blooming in vain. The lyrics conclude by expressing the difficulty in standing up with strength when there are traitors among them and the people are too honorable.
Overall, "Spiew Z Mogilki" is a poignant and introspective reflection on the suffering and challenges faced by Poland and its people. It captures the bleakness of the time and serves as a poignant reminder of their struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
Leci liście z drzewa
Leaves are falling from the tree
Co wyrosło wolne
That grew freely
Znad mogiły śpiewa
Sings from the grave
Jakieś ptaszę polne
Some wild bird
Nie było nie było
There was none, there was none
Polsko dobrze tobie
Oh Poland, you were well
Wszystko się przyśniło
Everything was dreamt
A twe dzieci w grobie
And your children in the grave
Popalone sioła
Burnt villages
Rozwalone miasta
Destroyed cities
A w polu dokoła
And in the field all around
Zawodzi niewiasta
A woman wails
Wszyscy poszli z domu
Everyone went from home
Wzięli z sobą kosy
Took with them scythes
Robić nie ma komu
There's no one to work
W polu giną kłosy
In the field, wheat stalks perish
Kiedy pod Warszawą
When near Warsaw
Dziatwa się zbierała
The youth gathered
Zdało się że z sławą
It seemed that with glory
Wyjdzie Polska cała
Poland would emerge
Bili zimę całą
They fought through the whole winter
Bili się przez lato
They fought through the summer
Lecz w jesieni za to
But in autumn
I dziatwy nie stało
And the youth were no more
Skończyły się boje
The battles have ended
Ale pusta praca
But empty work
Bo w zagony swoje
Because in their own fields
Nikt z braci nie wraca
None of the brothers return
Jednych ziemia gniecie
The land crushes some
A inni w niewoli
And others are in captivity
A inni po świecie
And others around the world
Bez chaty i roli
Without home and land
Ni pomocy z nieba
No help from heaven
Ani z ludzkiej ręki
Nor from human hand
Pusta leży gleba
The ground lies empty
Darmo kwitną wdzięki
In vain do charms bloom
Znów leci z drzewa
Again leaves are falling from the tree
O Polska kraino
Oh Poland, land
Gdyby ci rodacy
If your countrymen
Co za ciebie giną
Who die for you
Wzięli się do pracy
Started to work
I po garstce ziemi
And with a handful of land
Z Ojczyzny zabrali
Took from the Fatherland
Już by dłońmi swymi
Then with their own hands
Polskę usypali
They would rebuild Poland
Lecz wybić się siłą
But to break free with force
To dla nas już dziwy
Is already a miracle for us
Bo zdrajców przybyło
For traitors have multiplied
A lud zbyt poczciwy
And the people are too honorable
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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