Étude Op. 25, No. 1 (Chopin)
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Étude Op. 25, No. 1 is a solo piano work composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1836, and published in 1837. Its romanticized names are "Aeolian Harp," for Schumann's description of it, and "The Shepherd Boy," for Chopin's advice to a pupil to picture a shepherd boy refuging in a grotto to avoid a storm playing the melody on his flute. This work consists entirely of rapid arpeggios and harmonic modulations based on A-flat major. Robert Schumann famously praised this work in a dissertation on the Études. Stating that the arpeggios were "fantastic", and the melody "wondrous", it was Schumann who coined the alternate name "Aeolian Harp" for this étude.[1]
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[edit] Structure
This étude comprises a right-hand melody and supportive bass line, the accompaniment consisting of broken chords, provided by the inner voices of both hands, usually in semiquaver-tuplets. The left hand periodically introduces polyrhythyms. The principal melody is presented by the fifth finger of the right hand, falling on the first note of each sextuplet, with occasional counter-melodies provided by the inner voices.
The work as a whole is exceptionally well-structured. The distinctive theme is presented in A-flat major. Through metamorphic modulations to closely related keys, it eventually arrives at a brief episode in the remote key of A major, but culminates with an intense climax in the home key, and a momentary reference to the original thematic material, which flows easily into the coda.
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Étude Op. 25, No. 1 Martha Goldstein playing on an Erard (1851) - 2574KB Étude Op. 25, No. 1 Performed by Donald Betts. Courtesy of Musopen - Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Technique
As a technical work, this piece requires an extremely flexible hand, wide spans between fingers, accuracy in large leaps, and exceptionally fine tone control governed by a strong musical instinct. The repeated figures of the arpeggiated inner voices can easily result in an apparent excess, unless phrased artistically. Another difficulty this étude presents is the voicing of the inner counter-melodies. Schumann once commented on Chopin's subtle emphasis on certain melodies throughout this piece.[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Schumann quoted by Kullak, quoted by James Huneker in Chopin: the Man and His Music (1900).
- ^ "Chopin Etude 25.1", In the Hands. March 13, 2007.
[edit] References
- Arthur Hedley: Chopin. J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., 1947
- Adam Zamoyski: Chopin. Granada Pulishing Limited, 1979
- John Gillespie: Five Centuries of Keyboard Music. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1965
- James Friskin and Irwin Freundlich: Music for the Piano. Dover Publications, Inc., 1973
- Harold C. Schonberg: The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present. Simon and Schuster, 1963
- Ates Orga: Chopin. Midas Books, 1976
- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians,5th Edition. St. Martin's Press, 1954
[edit] External links
- An alternate interpretation [1]
- The Ultimate Chopin Etudes Discography from Eternal Chopin Etudes Space
- Study Guide, Recordings and Sheet Music from Chopin Music
- Sheet music available in .pdf or LilyPond format, from Mutopia.
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