Cosy place for all the Chopin lovers

Fryderyk Chopin, in letter to Solange Clésinger, on receiving the news of the death of her new-born daughter. 11th March 1848.

I felt it would be adequate to share this quote today, because today is the 169th anniversary of Chopin's death. I am always lacking words on this day because what I feel for him is very difficult to describe. In fact, I feel like I cannot fully understand it myself. 

When I read his letters, I smiled at his joys and felt sad for his sorrows. Many times, when I look to his photograph, I look into his eyes and I feel my heart pressed in my chest. I feel like I miss him desperately, as if he had been indeed a friend of mine to whom I used to confide everything. In those moments, I have an urge to hug him and tell him that he made the world a more beautiful place. Through his music, he made me more aware of the beauty of nature, the beauty of the tiny little things that often go unnoticed; I truly realized how beautiful a flower can be in its simplicity, how graceful and tender is the swirling of the autumn leaves before they touch the ground, even the night sky would not have the same pearly and velvety feel to it if I had never heard the Nocturnes, and when I see a bird placidly hovering at dusk against a pink sky, I always hear the opening phrase of the 4th ballade in my mind. He's not just my favorite composer, he is someone who, not having met me, somehow knew me, and in his art, he presented a portrait of myself to me.

A few months ago, I visited his grave, and when I first saw the head of Clésinger's sculpture peeking through the trees, I felt a punch in my stomach and immediatly started sobbing. As I stood there, crying my eyes out, just a few feet above his bones, feeling ridiculous, I asked myself how could I be having such an intense reaction, how could I be crying so much, with genuine sorrow, if the person I was crying about had been dead for over a century before I was even born? I still don't know how to answer this question, I still don't know exactly why I love him this much, because it's not just about the wonderful music he created, it's something else which, despite not knowing how to describe exactly, I feel very intensely. But then, I realized that we should never feel ashamed or ridiculous if it is love that we are feeling; it empregnates our hearts with gratitude, it is what makes us good, it brings beauty to our lives and so we should always strive to have and to share more of it, rather than conceal it or feeling ridiculous about it. 

There was also a moment where I sat on the little stairs next to his grave while listening to some of his pieces. Although it was a cloudy day, at that moment the sky cleared and the sun shone through the trees. And there I was, listening to the work of his life, right beside him. I looked up to the sky and smiled. At that moment, I felt I was not just beside his silenced body, but with him. I felt so happy. 

I wish I could thank him exactly as my heart desires, for all the beauties and happiness he has given to me. Sometimes, I feel that words are insufficient, and so, I hope that, wherever he is, he can feel the intensity and sincerity of the love that I have for him, because that is the only real tribute I can pay him. I hope that he is free from his troubles and happy knowing that, even 169 years after his passing, he still has so many friends who love him dearly.

So I just discovered this wonderful, complete recording of Chopin’s songs, played on a Pleyel piano from 1848 and although I don’t understand the polish language (very unfortunately) yesterday I was a sobbing mess listening to all these beauties  ;_;

Although I love them all so much, my favorites are Wiosna, Spiew z mogily and Pierscien. I looked up for an english translation of some of the songs and when I read the translation of Pierscien  I instantly thought about Maria Wodzinska, because the poem is about giving your beloved a silver ring only to see her marrying another man, and then my heart shattered while listening to this song, not only because it is beautiful, but also because Fryderyk wrote it when Maria’s family broke their engagement. And I just can’t imagine how heartbroken he must have been when he composed it

Piano: Nelson Goerner

Soprano: Aleksandra Kurzak

Chopin: Song Wiosna, Op.74 nº2

Today is the first day of Spring! To mark the beginning of the new season I thought it would be nice to share this beautiful, dreamy song, composed in 1838. It’s unfortunate that Chopin’s songs are so rarely performed and recorded; they are little precious gems coming from a composer who wrote almost exclusively for the piano, and here, he grants us the rare opportunity to witness his music sung by a human voice, which he loved so much.

Poem: Stefan Witwicki (polish poet and friend of Chopin)

Soprano: Aleksandra Kurzak

Piano: Nelson Goerner