Description
Mazurka Op.6 No.1 in F-sharp minor is among the earliest mazurkas Chopin published. Op.6 is a set of four, and this piece stands at its head. The mazurka is a triple-time dance rooted in Polish folk music, and Chopin kept writing in the genre throughout his life; this piece can be heard as the starting point for the many mazurkas that followed.
In F-sharp minor and 3/4, it layers the bouncing rhythm typical of Polish folk dance with the delicate harmonic sensibility already evident in the young composer. Mazurkas often place the accent on the second or third beat, so the weight of the beat shifts from bar to bar. At around one minute forty seconds, it is a short piece.
It is rated intermediate, and its 889 notes are not a great many, but it calls for careful attention to the subtle shifts of character within its repeating rhythm. The range runs from F♯1 to C♯7, too wide for a 61-key keyboard. Start by slowing the playback to check how the left hand marks the beat, use the hand colours to tell melody from accompaniment, then bring the tempo back up and look for the sway of the dance.
Works based on Polish folk dance, infused with Chopin's longing for his homeland — deeply personal music.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes the "Revolutionary" and other etudes, Ballades No. 1 and No. 4, nocturnes, and the Preludes, Op. 28.
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