Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1

Prompt: This really doesn't have a prompt, but I'm preparing for my music scholarship performances and I figured it couldn't hurt to use this blog as some sort of study method, since I'm trapped at my grandparents' house with no way to actually practice. Perhaps this will help me out a big, ne? If not... oh well. If you are not musically inclined, don't read this; it won't make any sense to you (it might not even if you are musically inclined).

Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1 (Chopin)

It says the beginning is supposed to be fortissimo with an emphasis on the second note of each pair--thirty-second, double-dotted quarter--repeated five times in descending octaves. It reminds me of a heartbeat--ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum... This is the heartbeat of the song. In the past I've had trouble keeping this beat constant throughout the A and B sections of the piece--must keep slow and steady! Followed by (fortississimo) dum, da-dum, dum, dum, dum (ascending rolling chord--upwards motion with hand; it makes me feel like my feet are coming off the ground; I want to throw my head back (resist the urge, heh)) Completely cut off, let the music take a deep breath.

Soft--sforzando on the fifth to a D sharp and then two Polish sixteenths in the left hand, slightly rushed. Elise says I should slow them down on one of the repeats, probably the second one, or risk making them repetitive. Ignore pedal-markings; they're completely useless. Can't read pedal-markings anyway (do by ear). Want to start off soft after the sforzando and gradually build dynamics through the little twirls of notes (that's what they remind me of anyway, like a girl's toes touching the floor as she spins--this is dancing music after all). Hit the G sharp and then prance up the triplets--work on the two-against-three in the left hand; it slips every time. High D sharp and then dissipate, let the music relax; the next section should be softer, even though I'm tempted to make it wilder. (Perhaps give it a dynamic boost in the second repetition to keep things interesting?)

Triplet--drill two-against-three, though it's much better here than two measures before--same prancing with softly rising dynamics; try to keep noise level at a minimum for a crescendo, though; it's supposed to be piano. Note the G sharp in the left hand--last half of second beat--keep missing it (check, check, check). Left hand: take C sharp over first finger with the second, switch to thumb, switch back. Right hand: take E sharp, F sharp, G sharp and A with thumb (last is a rolled chord, do not forget!) Hit high B and try to remain soft and drifting, like a little falling leaf (trill on fourth triplet-eigth) that does a little flip before it plops into the water--last note is like a ripple. Keep tempo relatively constant there--only retardando on the last repetition of this theme (at the end) for emphasis.

Repeat (louder?)

Dip down and back up, building--arpeggio with first three notes with the first eigth note and the second three with the second (nail the E!) and return back immediately with emphasis on the second half of the second beat, letting up slightly on the second half of the third--press firm on the downwards stroke and then lift wrists gently. Keep the left and right hands exactly together! No ka-dunking! Next set a little louder--same idea, but different arpeggio with the first three notes on the first eigth note and second four on the second--nail the A! Even if you screw up the rest, the A must be heard! And keep hands together, emphasize first note, let up on the second. Dynamics increase--building to the climax of the section. Forte--final two arpeggios (more than two octaves in one beat). First four notes on the first eigth note and next five on the second (like a rolling chord)--hit the E! (try not to kill your pinky finger again, huh?)--firm and together, then release--forte for the second arpeggio (a repeat of the other one), but this time do not let up on the last note. Following measure is fortissimo and the climax of the section--make it sing! Polish sixteenths--play normally at least once throughout the piece), bring out the B sharp and A sharp in the right hand above the C and F sharps, sforzando on the first eigth note of the next measure and begin to let up. Give the pedal baby-pumps to gradually grain out the mixture of sound; don't want it to cut off or linger when the last of the three D sharps is played. By the time you reach the third beat you want a pure tone with no harmony to sharp the next section.

Gentle, happy, sweet (dulce) with dancing right hand and calm left hand--like an interlude between violent passion and anger. Gradually getting softer and softer (want to reach a pianissimo by the end)--remember, that one set of seven, three with the first eight and four with the second). Drop an octave, start over until you reach the B. A double-sharp, B-sharp, C-sharp and then tremollo between B sharp and C-sharp with second and third finger, three rotations per eight note for the entire measure--let up the pedal on the last eight note, do not want the B sharp to bleed into the next section.

Next part similar to the first set of prancing feet--notice, no E sharps are present (Elise missed this the first time we studied it) and left hand is different. Starts with a B sharp goes up to a C sharp and then down to an A natural. Do not go the other direction. (Drill this part; it likes to play tricks!) Ends on the same G sharp with the same little twirl of triplets up to a D sharp and then ends as the A section of the piece does, only with a ritardando and a piano instead of a pianissimo. Switch this out for a louder bit on the second repetition to match the idea of the first (if you played the second repetition of the A section louder--think about pronto!)

Repeat (louder?)

Much gentler. Key change to five flats rather than four sharps (nasty key change too, might I add). F--constant droning F's underneath; tap with thumb. Ascending notes in the left hand from A-flat to A-natural to B-flat to C--emphasize! Also, bring out the triplet on the third beat over the droning beneath; that's what needs to be heard. Keep the thumb gentle even though it goes against its natural disposition, and make sure to pump the pedal between the A-flat and the A-natural or the sound will not be pretty. This part isn't meant for dissonance. Allow for pause in strict heartbeat (slower than sections A and B) to allow for the trill on the second beat--bring out the A-flat, trill, C and B-flat, not the F! And on next measure, hit the E loud enough that it doesn't blend with the D-flats beneath it. (Always miss that). Bring out the triplet, B-flat, A-flat, G-flat--emphasize the low A-flat in the left hand, but don't let it overshadow the melody in the right--grace-notes, F--make the change from A-flat to C-flat in the left hand obvious with a good breath from the pedal. D-flat--leave space for the trill once more, like a little breath of fresh air, then emphasize the descending notes in the left hand: B-double-flat, A-flat, G-natural, G-flat, F, F-flat. The dynamics in this whole section should be slowly rising to the following B-flat, which should ring--four notes following that, keep a close eye on, they're hard to catch if they're off even the tiniest bit. Hit forte with the G-flat octave, not the D-flat, and bring the sixteenth notes out especially there; they are the important part of this measure. Then one-two-three-two-two-three-three-two-three, emphasis on the first note of each set of six--be careful in the left hand of the last beat, the A-flat is a whole octave farther down--next just is three octaves--and then breathe.

Start again with the F--Left hand: D-flat an octave down. Same basic idea as the beginning of section C, at least in the first measure. Ascending notes in the left hand, but bring out the four in the second to last eight note and the six in the last, which should spiral straight down into an A-flat (that's the note we want to hear!). From there on, the pedal should breathe at least at every beat. Do not mix the A-flat with the B-double-flat or the B-double-flat with the F-sharp and A-natural combo (blech!). In the left hand, notes are descending, breathe every eigth note after the second half of the second beat or else. Emphasize in the right: D-natural, C-sharp, D-flat, B-double-flat and D-flat, then the sixteeths--in the second beat that is a B-double-flat; DO NOT FORGET!--E-flat, F, G-flat, sixteeths, F, C (important, we want to hear! part of the melody!--note this is the only spot where the left-hand part changes intervals in the C section!), F, sixteenths, E-flat, B-flat (this is important, don't leave it out, it's part of the melody!), E-flat, sixteenths, trill-triplets (that is a rolling chord there with the trill!), rolling chord, pause... breathe... ba-dum... dum... dum... da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, dum, dum, dum... out the B-flat and A-flat, then the B-double-flat and A-flat, and repeat as necessary. The A-flat is an important part of the melody; do not abandon it! The second to last note of the right hand has a G-flat, not an A-flat--press down firmly (as in section B, but lighter) and then release softly on the last note, like the flutter of a bird's wing. It should not be chunky!

Repeat

Section D--in my opinion, the most difficult. Melody is in the left hand. Practice the right hand extra hard so it doesn't hold back the artistic freedom of the left. The weaker hand is often the hand which holds the stronger back. Bring out the E-flat and (to a lesser extent) the D-flat an octave above, also the C and the D-flat in the right hand, but underneath the melodic turn in the second beat in the left hand. Then the F, E-flat and D-flat in the right hand underneath the melody in the left. Third measure right hand: emphasize D-flat, C, D-flat beneath the sixteenths. Left hand: sixteenths should rise up to a peak on the G-flat in the third beat. Pay attention to the B-double-flat, land on the E-flat with the thumb and reach over with the index finger to give a powerful G-flat rather than shifting the thumb awkwardly upwards three steps. Next measure right hand: emphasize F, E-flat and mostly D-flat and C (these are practically part of the melody and should therefore be brought out as the introduce us to the sudden shift in key that follows, but do not let the F and E-flat cover the left-hand melody).

Key changes--A is flat again. Emphasize in the right: C, B-natural, C, but once again do not cover up the sixteenths in the left hand. Left hand: The first two notes are introductory; what we really want to hear is a trembling little descent from the solid G-natural. Next measure right hand: emphasize E-flat, D-natural, C but don't cover up the melody in left hand. Then emphasize C, B-natural, C (like in the first measure again), while playing sixteenths in the left hand, which should rise in dynamics to the F. D and G are natural, but A is not. Then let the dynamics drift once more on next measure. Right hand: bring out the D-natural a little, but really bring out the last three eigth notes which act as a sort of catalyst for the next measure: D-natural, C, B-flat--

Lnd on the E-flat, emphasize D-natural and C beneath the sixteenths. Sixteenths are building, but slowly and sweetly--not forte yet! Next measure, right hand should really bring out that C, because it lasts for two whole beats (haha!), and sixteenths are once more building. G is still natural, A is not. Right hand: don't forget the B-flat on the third beat. Then right should emphasize E-flat, A-natural and B-flat, but not overdo it. The left hand sixteenth notes build to the immediate precursor of a forte. Next measure: right gets C, left gets sixteenth-note chromatic scale uwards, then skip D-flat and E-natural--build, build, build to that G-natural. Play it loud to cover up the sudden lack of a harmony in the right hand--sudden key-change again. It'll sound really weird, but its not. We want the F-flat and E-flat to be heard. Right hand in the next measure is tricky--do the trill with fourth and fifth finger even though Elise said not to do it, do it anyway (>.>) and then emphasize B-flat, A-natural, B-flat, B-natural, C while simultaneously bringing out the E-flat and B-double-flats. This is the spot where left hand needs to get serious: two measure from the climax of the D-section! Right hand continues: bring out D-flat, D-natural (beneath the B-double-flats), then the E-flat and C. Last three eigth notes in right hand serve as catalyst to climax of the entire piece. B-natural and D-natural, C and E-flat, C and E-natural, and then a big fat F octave with a D-flat squished in the middle--put your elbows into it! This should echo through the entire house! Fingers curved (no caving in on the joints) and wrists up so there's room to press down; want it to be firm.

The rest is mostly a repeat of section C, though at the end the left hand plays some little tricks. Rather than only one interval being changed, the intervals are changed four times--don't let this trip you up!

To back to the beginning.

Repeat section A--soft again? No repeat this time; just once!

Repeat section B--soft again? Once again, no repeat this time; just once! And make sure to really bring out the ritardando on the last few measures so people know the song is ending, otherwise it'll sound like it just cut off.

Finite.

Sigh... so much work, so little time. But I really do like this piece. Chopin was an amazing Romantic Era artist! He brings out emotions so beautifully! The beginning really is passionate, and the C section is so sweet, but the D... *shivers* He just sounds so tortured! It's just wonderful... *sighs dreamily* Well, enough of that. I'm off now!