| Ballade No. 3 | |
|---|---|
| Ballade byFrédéric Chopin | |
| Key | A♭ major |
| Opus | 47 |
| Composed | 1841 |
| Published | 1841 |
TheBallade No. 3 inA♭ major,Op. 47, is the third ofChopin's ballades for solo piano. It was composed in 1841 and published the same year.
It is the only ballade byChopin that does not end in a minor key.
The piece was first mentioned by Chopin in a letter toJulian Fontana on 18 October 1841. It was likely composed in the summer of 1841 inNohant, France, where he had also finished theNocturnes Op. 48 and theFantaisie in F minor.[1] The first German edition, published byBreitkopf & Härtel, appeared in January 1842.
The ballade is dedicated to his pupil Pauline de Noailles (1823–1844).[2] The inspiration for it is usually claimed to beAdam Mickiewicz's poemUndine,[3] also known asŚwitezianka.[2] There are structural similarities with the "Raindrop Prelude" which was inspired by the weather inMallorca during Chopin's disastrous vacation withGeorge Sand. These include a repetitive A♭ whichmodulates into a G♯ during the C♯ minor section.
The form of the ballade is an arch: A–B–C–B–A–coda. The "A"theme is in two parts; the first part is song-like and the second is dance-like. Out of the four ballades, this ballade has the tightest structure. It usesdevelopment procedures that heighten the tension.[4]
The ballade opens with a lengthy introduction markeddolce. The introduction is thematically unrelated to the majority of the piece but is repeated at the close and climax of the work. Following the introduction, Chopin introduces a new theme in a section with the performance directionmezza voce; this theme consists of repeated Cs in twobroken octaves in the right hand. This theme reoccurs three times in the ballade, twice on C and once on A♭.
The mezza voce section soon develops into a furious F minor chordal section and once again returns to A♭. The mezza voce section is repeated, followed by a new theme consisting of right-hand sixteenth-note leggiero runs. The following return of the broken octave theme istransposed from C to A♭ (the repeated Cs now being A♭s). The key signature then shifts to C♯ minor. The original "B" theme is then developed, this time using rapid, chromatic left-hand runs under large chords in the right. This theme builds to a climax through rapid repetition of broken G♯ octaves (referencing themezza voce theme) with fragments of the "C" theme in the left hand.
A retransition occurs as the dynamic builds from piano to forte. The figuration in the left hand is chromatic and consists of spans frequently larger than an octave. The key signature then shifts back to A♭ major. In the final section of the arch, the "A" theme from the introduction is repeated again in octaves. The ballade ends with a reprise of the A♭ leggiero runs and a second right hand arpeggio. Four chords provide closure to the piece.
A typical performance lasts seven to eight minutes.
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