John Field, an early 19th century Irish pianist, invented the term "Nocturne," meaning a "night piece." He wrote 18 of these.
Then Frederic Chopin came on the scene, and wrote 21 more. Chopin, a Polish composer, wrote many short piano works that are hauntingly beautiful. Some are called nocturnes, some are preludes, ballades, waltzes, and mazurkas. "Mazurka" comes from the Mazurs- a country folk living near Warsaw. It was the name of a
popular local dance form.
I have a collection of simplified piano pieces by Chopin, and have enjoyed playing many of them-- recently have been memorizing a piece that is a section from Ballade number one. And my son
is starting to learn Mazurka Op. 33 no. 3.
Thought you might enjoy hearing a sampling of Chopin pieces through two Vimeo videos:
First, filmed by Syuji Honda in New York City, is Chopin "Nocturne":
http://vimeo.com/19915047
This one features a classical guitarist (even though written for piano, it sounds great on guitar,
too!) playing in a HUGE, fabulously ornate hall-- and he is all by himself in the center of a circular rug. Very interesting to see his surroundings while you are listening.
The second video is a
short art film that has won several awards-- Chopin's Mazurka B Major op. 41 no. 3 is played and it appears that the stop-action animation that accompanies the music was created to follow the rhythms-- using snow on the ground as a canvas, and what looks like black charcoal (but is really asphalt and ink) as the paint. This work was created by Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz: http://vimeo.com/10947861
Then Frederic Chopin came on the scene, and wrote 21 more. Chopin, a Polish composer, wrote many short piano works that are hauntingly beautiful. Some are called nocturnes, some are preludes, ballades, waltzes, and mazurkas. "Mazurka" comes from the Mazurs- a country folk living near Warsaw. It was the name of a
popular local dance form.
I have a collection of simplified piano pieces by Chopin, and have enjoyed playing many of them-- recently have been memorizing a piece that is a section from Ballade number one. And my son
is starting to learn Mazurka Op. 33 no. 3.
Thought you might enjoy hearing a sampling of Chopin pieces through two Vimeo videos:
First, filmed by Syuji Honda in New York City, is Chopin "Nocturne":
http://vimeo.com/19915047
This one features a classical guitarist (even though written for piano, it sounds great on guitar,
too!) playing in a HUGE, fabulously ornate hall-- and he is all by himself in the center of a circular rug. Very interesting to see his surroundings while you are listening.
The second video is a
short art film that has won several awards-- Chopin's Mazurka B Major op. 41 no. 3 is played and it appears that the stop-action animation that accompanies the music was created to follow the rhythms-- using snow on the ground as a canvas, and what looks like black charcoal (but is really asphalt and ink) as the paint. This work was created by Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz: http://vimeo.com/10947861
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