Bellman, Jonathan - Chopin's Polish Ballade Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom

Chopin's Polish Ballade examines the Second Ballade, Op. 38, and how that work gave voice to the Polish cultural preoccupations of the 1830s, using musical conventions from French opera and amateur piano music. This approach provides answers to several persistent questions about the work's form, programmatic content, and poetic inspiration.

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CONTENTS

List of Musical Examples
Introduction
1. Two Versions, Two Keys, and Certain Poems of Mickiewicz
Two Versions
Two Keys
Certain Poems of Mickiewicz
2. Genesis of a Narrative Process
Stories in Tones
Amateur Program Music
Ballad Poetry and Musical Form
3. Hearing Konrad Wallenrod: Chopin's Ballade No. 1, Op. 23
Overview and Stylistic Summary of the First Ballade
Konrad Wallenrod: Plot and Structure
Konrad Wallenrod as Ballade Scenario
The Lay of Aldona's Fate
4. Op. 38 and the Genre Issue
A Formal Overview of Chopin's Second Ballade
The Second Ballade and the Sonata Problem
Ballade as Genre
The Operatic Ballade to 1831
5. The Polish Pilgrims and the Operatic Imperative
A Pilgrims' Ballade
A Polish Ballade
The Great Migration and Polish Culture in Exile
Personal Anguish and Literary Apotheosis
Sapienti Pauca
6. Martyrdom and Exile: The Narrative of Chopin's F Major Ballade
Internal Evidence I-The A Material: Siciliano
Internal Evidence II-The B Material: Storm
Internal Evidence III-The C Theme
Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom
Versions, Tonic Keys, and Mickiewicz Revisited
The Forest and the Trees
Appendix: A M. F. Chopin, sur sa Ballade Polonaise, by Felicien Mallefille.
Bibliography
Index