Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka in F minor, Op. 68, No. 4

Frédéric Chopin’s Mazurka in F minor, Op. 68, No. 4 is a short piece that is full of chromaticism. Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849), was a Polish composer and pianist of the Romantic period.

(For the purpose of this blog, I am going to analyse small sections of the piece, to make the analysis clearer..)

Measure 1-8:

This piece starts off in the key of F minor (i). There is a feeling of sub phrases in this small section, but the flow from one to the other, due to the use of chromaticism and the descending stepwise harmonies. A perfect cadence in the key of i (F minor) is recognisable in measure 8 with an F minor triad.

Measure 9-14:

This second phrase also starts in the key of F minor (i). This second phrase is a variation/development of the first phrase.

Measure 1-14: parallel period - (In a parallel period the two phrases are very similar.)

Measure 15-19:

The third phrase is in the key of A major. Measure 14-15 and 16-17 repeat each other, which creates emphasis on the repeated right hand motif and the key of A major. In measure 19, there is a perfect cadence.


Measure 19-23:

The fourth phrase of this piece is back in the original key of F minor (i). The right hand motifs of this section are exactly the same as the right hand motifs used in measure  15-19, but in the key of F minor. There is a perfect cadence in the key of F minor in measure 23.

Measure 15-23 is a parallel period.

Measure 24-27:

The fifth phrase is in the key of A flat major. This phrase has a sudden key change (Fminor - A major), but it travels to C minor (the dominant of F minor),

Measure 28-31:

The sixth phrase is in the key of C minor (v). The motifs used in this phrase are similar to the motifs used in phrase 5, but this ends in a half cadence in the key of C minor.

Measure 24-31: Parallel period

Overall

This piece has a heavy use of chromaticism (m. 14-15 for melodic and m. 2-4 for harmonic, for example), it uses inverted chords rather than root chords (F6 in m. 1, for example), the use of very dissonant chords (such as E diminished in m. 7), and quick changes in key (from F minor to A major in m. 13-15, A flat major to C minor in m. 26-29).

There is also the use of sequencing, which you can hear in m. 1-5. This excerpt travels harmonically in a descending stepwise motion.. Also, the motifs/melody transposes by descending whole steps (m. 1-6.) A similar sequence can be found in m. 7-11.