Composer’s Life Span: 1810-1849
Location: Chopin grew up in Warsaw, Poland, but then left to tour Europe in 1830, starting in Vienna, where he stayed for eight months. After leaving Vienna, he went to Munich, then Stuggart, and then ended his tour in Paris, where he eventually died. He composed mostly in the summer at in the village of Nohant.
Genres: Chopin’s main genre was the character piece for the piano, but he also wrote a few concertos and sonatas.
Bio:
Chopin was a major figure during the romantic era and exclusively wrote music for the piano, aside from two concertos he wrote in his younger years. Fitting into the romantic era well, emotional significance was at the forefront of his most respected works. …show more content…
However, at short some points, the melody becomes less tuneful, notably towards the end. The point behind the melody, as in most romantic pieces, is to portray emotion.
Harmony: The song remains in the major mode throughout the piece. The piece is usually consonant, but some dissonance in created towards the end that stands out from the calmness of the rest of the piece.
Rhythm: The meter is in groups of three. The tempo is consistently quite slow, but as Chopin uses rubato, it speeds up a few times throughout the piece, sometimes as a transition between sections. Towards the end, the tempo increases, but then goes back to the stable beginning that it started at. The notes are played in a staccato fashion.
Dynamics: The music is soft and delicate aside from a few moments where the piece gets louder and more passionate. The change from loud to soft happens quite suddenly, but transitions back to a more delicate sound in a crescendo manner. Since this is a solo piano piece, this transition is accomplished by the performer simply playing the notes