Bolero (Chopin)
Encyclopedia
The Bolero, Op. 19, was written by Frédéric Chopin
in 1833 and published the following year. It is one of his lesser-known piano pieces, although it has been recorded numerous times.
The overall key of the Bolero is difficult to establish. The work opens with three unison octaves in G fortissimo, then a lengthy Introduction in C major, moving to A minor for the Bolero proper. It is interrupted by sections in A major, A-flat major and B-flat minor before returning to A minor. It ends triumphantly in A major.
The work was dedicated to the Scottish-born but half-French Mademoiselle la Comtesse Émilie de Flahaut
, then aged only 14, but later to become Countess of Shelburne.
The apparent inspiration for the Bolero was Chopin's friendship with the French soprano Pauline Viardot, whose father, the famed Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia
, had introduced bolero
s to Paris by the time of Chopin's arrival there. His biographer Frederick Niecks
speculated that it was inspired by the Bolero in Daniel Auber
's La muette de Portici
(1828).
Despite the ostensibly Spanish flavour of the piece, it has been described as a polonaise
in disguise, or a bolero à la polonaise, as its rhythms are more redolent of the national dance of Chopin's homeland than anything Spanish. It was written five years before Chopin first visited Spain (1838).
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
in 1833 and published the following year. It is one of his lesser-known piano pieces, although it has been recorded numerous times.
The overall key of the Bolero is difficult to establish. The work opens with three unison octaves in G fortissimo, then a lengthy Introduction in C major, moving to A minor for the Bolero proper. It is interrupted by sections in A major, A-flat major and B-flat minor before returning to A minor. It ends triumphantly in A major.
The work was dedicated to the Scottish-born but half-French Mademoiselle la Comtesse Émilie de Flahaut
Emily Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne
Emily Jane Mercer Elphinstone Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne and 8th Lady Nairne was a British peeress....
, then aged only 14, but later to become Countess of Shelburne.
The apparent inspiration for the Bolero was Chopin's friendship with the French soprano Pauline Viardot, whose father, the famed Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia
Manuel García (tenor)
Manuel del Pópulo Vicente Rodriguez García was a Spanish opera singer, composer, impresario, and singing teacher.-Biography:...
, had introduced bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s to Paris by the time of Chopin's arrival there. His biographer Frederick Niecks
Frederick Niecks
Frederick Niecks was a German musical scholar and author, who was resident in Scotland for the bulk of his life. He is best remembered now for his biographies of Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.-Biography:...
speculated that it was inspired by the Bolero in Daniel Auber
Daniel Auber
Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
's La muette de Portici
La muette de Portici
La muette de Portici originally called Masaniello, ou La muette de Portici, is an opera in five acts by Daniel Auber, with a libretto by Germain Delavigne, revised by Eugène Scribe...
(1828).
Despite the ostensibly Spanish flavour of the piece, it has been described as a polonaise
Polonaise
The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....
in disguise, or a bolero à la polonaise, as its rhythms are more redolent of the national dance of Chopin's homeland than anything Spanish. It was written five years before Chopin first visited Spain (1838).