Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
The Op. 10 Études were composed in the period
1829-1832 and dedicated to Franz Liszt. This Op. 25
collection bears a dedication to Liszt's mistress,
Countess Marie d'Agoul...(+)
Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
The Op. 10 Études were composed in the period
1829-1832 and dedicated to Franz Liszt. This Op. 25
collection bears a dedication to Liszt's mistress,
Countess Marie d'Agoult, a writer who used the
pseudonym Daniel Stern. One reason Chopin attempted to
capture Liszt's sympathies with the dedications had to
do with the performance design of the pieces in the two
sets: each was written to highlight some facet of
pianism. For example, in the Op. 25 collection, No. 2,
in F minor, is a study in cross rhythms, while No. 10,
in B minor, is a study in legato octaves.
The first item in the Op. 25 set is nicknamed the
"Aeolian Harp," owing to its soft and graceful
arpeggios. The piece is lively and full of color, but
slightly wistful in its dark gentleness. Robert
Schumann praised this work in a dissertation on the
Études; calling it "a poem rather than a study", he
coined for it the alternate name "Aeolian Harp". It is
also sometimes known as "The Shepherd Boy," following
an unsupported tale by Kleczynski that Chopin advised a
pupil to picture a shepherd boy taking refuge in a
grotto to avoid a storm playing the melody on his
flute.
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
introduces polyrhythms from time to time. The principal
melody is presented by the right hand on the first note
of each group of sextuplets, with occasional
counter-melodies provided by the inner voices.
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.
Although originally composed for solo piano, I created
this Transcription of the "Aeolian Harp Étude" in Ab
Major (Op. 25 No. 1) for Concert (Pedal) Harp.
PARTITION