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.
Hulanka
Frédéric Chopin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Co ty robisz stój
Tam się śmiejesz a tu lejesz
Miód na kaftan mój
Nie daruję wycałuję
Jakie liczko brew
Nóżki małe ząbki białe
Cóż tak bracie wciąż dumacie
Bierz tam smutki czart
Pełno nędzy ot pij prędzej
Świat ten diabła wart
Pijane nogi zbłądzą z drogi
Cóż za wielki srom
Krzykiem żony rozbudzony
Trafisz gdzie twój dom
Pij lub kijem się pobijem
Biegnij dziewczę w czas
By pogodzić nie zaszkodzić
Oblej miodem nas
The song "Hulanka" by Frédéric Chopin is a playful piece about drinking, dancing, and flirting. The main character is a man who is enjoying himself at a party, and he is joined by a woman who catches his eye. The woman is described as having small feet, white teeth, and a charming smile. The man is so taken with her that he jokes he will give her a kiss and steal her away.
The lyrics also contain a few darker undertones. The singer advises his companion not to worry about life's troubles and to instead drink and dance away their worries. He warns that if they drink too much, their "drunken legs" may lead them astray and they may end up in trouble. The final lines are a bit ambiguous, as it is unclear whether the singer is encouraging the woman to join him in a fight, or if he is just using this threat as a playful way to end the song.
Overall, "Hulanka" is a lighthearted song that celebrates the joys of socializing and having fun. However, the lyrics also hint at the dangers of excess and the need to balance one's pleasures with responsibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Szynkareczko szafareczko
An endearing and playful address to a tavern girl who serves drinks.
Co ty robisz stój
What are you doing? Stop for a moment and give me your attention.
Tam się śmiejesz a tu lejesz
You're laughing over there while you spill honey on my coat here.
Miód na kaftan mój
Honey on my coat, a sweet mess that reminds me of love and fun.
Nie daruję wycałuję
I won't spare you and I'll kiss you.
Jakie liczko brew
Oh, what a cute eyebrow you have!
Nóżki małe ząbki białe
Small feet, white teeth, another funny and charming detail.
Hej spali mnie krew
I'm so excited that my blood is boiling with passion.
Cóż tak bracie wciąż dumacie
Why do you keep thinking so much, my friend?
Bierz tam smutki czart
Take your sorrows and throw them away, even if it means dealing with the devil.
Pełno nędzy ot pij prędzej
Life is full of misery, so drink up quickly to forget it.
Świat ten diabła wart
This world is only good for the devil to rule over, not for us mortals.
Pijane nogi zbłądzą z drogi
Drunk legs will stumble and lose their way.
Cóż za wielki srom
What a shame and disgrace it is to be drunk and disorderly.
Krzykiem żony rozbudzony
Your angry wife's screams will wake you up from your drunken stupor.
Trafisz gdzie twój dom
You'll be lucky if you can find your way back home.
Pij lub kijem się pobijem
Drink or fight, it doesn't matter as long as we have some fun together.
Biegnij dziewczę w czas
Run, girl, run before it's too late!
By pogodzić nie zaszkodzić
Let's pour honey over our wounds and make peace, not war.
Oblej miodem nas
Let's drown ourselves in honey and forget about the world for a while.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind