19
throughout the music, and the light tone in the higher register.
66
Moreover,
Chopin directed his
students to imitate the phrasing of the Italian singers through the physical motion of a bending
wrist. He suggested his students lift the wrist at the end of the phrase, which helps to smoothly
detach the hand from the keys and also naturally creates a
decrescendo.
3. Ornaments
Chopin considered ornaments as an integral part of the melodic line. He directed his
students to play
ornamentation not too quickly, rather singing every note. According to William
von Lenz, a student of Chopin, Chopin taught his students to play ornaments in an improvisatory
manner.
67
Kleczyński stated that Chopin’s preferred style of playing different ornamentations on
recurring sections, using a simple style at first and adding more notes and more rhythmic
complexity in later sections.
68
Chopin still followed the classical style, placing
ornaments on the
beat, not before. In scores that he annotated for his students, there are often lines drawn between
the first note of ornamentation and the bass note. One of the examples is Chopin’s annotation on
Camille Dubois-O’Meara’s score of the Nocturne in C Minor, Opus 48, no. 1.
69
In this nocturne,
Chopin clearly indicated that the first note of the ornaments in mm. 10, 19 and 20 should be
played on the beat with the first right-hand note in the measure. Similarly, his trills with
embellishments follow previous eras of baroque and classical music, beginning with the upper
note; however, trills without embellishments he wanted to be played
starting on the principal
note.
70
66
Owen Jander and Ellen T. Harris, “Bel Canto,” In
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.,
edited by Stanley Sadie, 3:161-162 (London: Macmillan, 2001), 161.
67
Eigeldinger, 52.
68
Kleczyński, 48.
69
Eigeldinger, 216.
70
John Petrie Dunn,
Ornamentation in the Works of Frederick Chopin (New York: Da Capo Press, 1971),
Definition.
20
4. Rubato
Chopin’s use of
rubato was dependent upon the type of music he was playing,
specifically whether it was Polish national or non-national music. His use of
rubato in music
associated with Poland was influenced by his heritage and experience with Polish national dance
and music. According to the observation made by his student Charles Hallé, Chopin’s playing of
his own mazurkas was closer to 4/4 time than actual 3/4 time. Chopin explained to Hallé that it
was because of taking extra time on the first beat, although the second and the third beats were
the same.
71
Chopin also told Hallé that he employed lesser
rubato in other music,
including
works by him not associated with Poland. Madame Dubois, another student of Chopin, stated
that Chopin directed the left hand to keep a steady beat, against a flexible rhythm in the right
hand, in the mazurka.
72
5. Sound and Articulation
Chopin advocated that pianists should develop their technique in
order to be able to
create a variety of sounds. According to his student, F. Henry Peru, Chopin demonstrated “how
he could obtain diverse sonorities from the same key, by striking it in twenty different ways.”
73
Chopin taught his students how to practice various articulations. One of his first
recommendations was to feel the keys with a supple hand motion, rather than hitting the keys. A
second suggestion was to use different motions along with differing weight and speed to make
different sounds. He also taught that a greater variety of emotions would help in creating a larger
dynamic palette and aid in greater expressivity.
74
71
Schonberg, 154.
72
Niecks, 101-102.
73
Eigeldinger, 32.
74
Ibid., 55-56; Gerig, 160.
21
There are two main articulations in Chopin’s style, and both are essential in Chopin’s
works. These articulations are
legato and
leggiero.
Legato is a basic requirement in any lyrical
melody found in Chopin’s piano works.
According to Elise Peruzzi, a friend and student of
Chopin, Chopin made a beautiful
legato sound from a natural full sonority by a sensitive finger
touch, and then connected the sound as much as possible in his fingers with stretched and relaxed
motions.
75
Chopin explained that the connection of the sounds should be blended together
through “clinging to the keys.”
76
The other main articulation for playing Chopin’s piano music is
leggiero. In his
explanation of it,
David Fallows stated that leggiero “normally … called for a light, detached
style of playing in rapid passages.”
77
It is helpful to remember that Chopin preferred performing
in the salon and only rarely performed in the concert hall,
78
a much larger space that necessarily
required a larger sound. His preferred way of piano playing, leading
by the fingers with the
elbows close to the body, is naturally softer than playing by using arm weight. In the scores he
annotated for his students, there are many
staccato markings present. For example, in Jane
Stirling’s score of the Etude, Op. 10, no. 2, there are
staccato markings on every note in the left-
hand accompaniment part in the first page.
79
Another example is in Camille Dubois-O’ Meara’s
score of the Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, no. 1, where there are many
staccato markings in the
left-hand accompaniment part.
80
These
staccato markings are possibly Chopin’s indication of the
leggiero articulation
that is necessary in
the accompaniment part, rather than an indication of
sharp
staccato articulation.
75
Niecks, 339.
76
Eigeldinger, 32.
77
David Fallows, “Leggero [leggiero],” In
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., edited by
Stanley Sadie, 14:481 (London: Macmillan, 2001), 481.
78
Walker, 13.
79
Eigeldinger, 199.
80
Ibid., 216.