Mazurka No. 13 in A Minor

The last of the four pieces in Chopin’s Op. 17 is one of the most famous of all his mazurkas. In a slow tempo, “Lento ma non troppo”, this is in the style of a kujawiak, a graceful dance from central Poland. The opening is harmonically ambiguous, and the accompanying figure introduces the minor-key theme, where the chromaticism brings an inward intensity rather than enriches the harmonic fabric. The theme’s delicate elaborations suggest the world of the nocturne, while the music’s modal feel infuses the expressive landscape with a certain exoticism. For the central section, the music moves to the major key, with a drone-like texture that creates a rustic simplicity, before returning to the minor mode for a shortened repeat of the opening section. Finally, the coda unfolds over a pedal point—a repeating A in the bass with gently shifting harmonies above it—until, in a closing masterstroke, Chopin brings back the opening accompanying figure, ending without tonal resolution. About Chopin's Mazurkas If Chopin’s polonaises are public emblems of national pride, then his mazurkas capture a more private sense of personal and national identity, of what it meant to him to be Polish, reflecting a nostalgia for his homeland. The mazurka was a synthesis of regional folk dances—the lively mazur and oberek and the slower and more lyrical kujawiak—with common characteristics, notably the triple time with a strongly accented second or third beat. Chopin’s 55 or so mazurkas reflect this range, but even the more extroverted pieces are often tinged with a distinctive strain of melancholy. These are among his most personal works, their sudden shifts of mood and emotional depth presented in music that is richly chromatic and harmonically daring.