Mega Music Talent

Posts Tagged ‘Chopin’

Chopin : the Man and His Music

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Price:

Find More Music Products

Frederic Chopin is one of the better known composers of the classical era, with compositions such as his “Minute Waltz” and the “Funeral March” making him world famous. We all know a Chopin piece when we hear it ? even if some of us do not recognise the composer!

Here are a few things that you might not know about Chopin:

1. What Did He Look Like?

There is only one known photograph of Chopin. It was taken in 1849 in Bisson in the same year that he died. You can view that photograph here: http://www.er.uqam.ca/merlin/ga991424/images/compositeurs/Chopin.jpg

2. Chopin The Inventor

Chopin invented popular musical forms such as the ballade and was also a leader in innovations in the forms of the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, noctume, etude, impromptu and prelude.

3. A Polish Birth

Chopin was born in 1810 in the village of Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw, Poland to a French father and Polish mother. He left Poland in 1830 during the “Great Immigration” following the suppression of the Polish in the November Uprising.

4. Polish Origins But a French Name

Chopin is reported to have remained a Polish patriot, however in order to rely on using Russian documentation, he performed under a French name. Later in life, he even adopted French nationality.

5. A Child Prodigy

Chopin received his first piano tuition at the age of 6, although he had already been playing piano and had previously received help from his older sister Ludwika. He received tuition from the respected Wojciech Zywny. He soon out-grew his tutor, and started public performances which drew comments and comparisons with Beethoven, and particularly with Mozart as a child.

6. Royal Fans

At around the age of 11, Chopin performed for Tzar Alexander I of Russia during an opening of the Polish parliament. He was later invited to the Belweder Palace as a “playmate” of the Russian Polish ruler Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia. He was also a summer guest of Prince Antoni Radziwill.

7. Chopin’s Works

Chopin wrote many pieces, with the manuscripts of over 230 surviving. These works include such popular pieces as:
Chopin wrote many pieces, with the manuscripts of over 230 surviving. These works include such popular pieces as:
•2 concertos for piano and orchestra, Opp. 11 and 21
•27 études (twelve in the Op. 10 cycle, twelve in the Op. 25 cycle, and three in 58 mazurkas
•a collection without an opus number)
•26 preludes
•20 waltzes
•17 polonaises (orchestral accompaniment)
•17 polonaises (cello with accompanying piano)
•21 nocturnes
•5 rondos
•4 ballades
•4 impromptus
•4 scherzos
•4 sets of variations
•3 piano sonatas, Opp. 4, 35, and 58
•3 écossaises

8. Chopin’s Death

Chopin passed away in 1849 at the age of 39 in Paris by the side of his sister Ludwika and a number of other distinguished attendants. It is unclear to this day whether he died as a result of Tuberculosis or Cystic Fibrosis. Either way he passed away at a young age, even for the time.

9. Memorials to Chopin

According to Chopin’s wishes, his heart was removed and preserved in alcohol, before being encased in a pillar in the Holy Cross Church in Poland.

The funeral was held a few weeks later in Paris and was attended by somewhere in the order of three thousand people, and then buried at Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

Author Bio: This article was written by Gary Tallon to celebrate Chappell of Bond Street’s collection of sheet music by Frederic Chopin amongst their collection of 50,000 titles of sheet music.

Music is magic! Music speaks louder than words and it’s a ‘language’ that the whole world understands. Did you know that people can be mentally conditioned to respond to a set stimulus like a series of tone signals? It works almost like a telephone does: You can dial a certain combination of numbers and that special sequence keys the equipment to connect one instrument with another. You’ve probably noticed at times how if a piece of music hits the right combination of notes for you; it can generate a significant response in your heart and mind. It has a psychological and spiritual effect on you. And if you’re really spiritually tuned, it can sometimes have a profound effect on you akin to sensing an electrical current or to receiving a personal radio signal.

Certain kinds of music will turn you on for certain kinds of things -it’s Spiritual. I listened to music all my life, but when I was twelve years old the Beatles came to America and my whole world opened up. Their music turned me on so much that it was just like I was flipping out into another world. I understood the music and I knew what was going on at deeper levels.

For those of you who were not alive when the Beatles exploded across America you won’t easily understand the significance of their impact upon not only America, but the entire world. They changed the way we dressed, looked, acted, spoke… and even our culture. The Beatles arrived in America just under three months after the assassination of President John Kennedy. This assassination had pulled America into a massive depression and the freshness and lively spirit of the Beatles was exactly what the country needed to revitalize itself.

The power of their music was definitely inspired and I believe that the Divine Spirit was working with them, to deliver the message of love to the world. A world which was in such chaos in the 1960′s.

Music links the heart of the hearer with the heart of the composer. This means that as you listen it blends the spirit of the composer with your spirit. It’s almost like the composer is a spirit guide, with you taking the role of the psychic medium – as the music becomes your crystal ball! When you listen to their music you gaze with them into the crystal ball, and all of a sudden your spirits are united and you both see and feel the same things. It sucks your spirit out of your body and transports you into another world. Suddenly you’re enraptured and revitalized and metaphorically transported into the World of the Spirit in that magical way that music can do. This is definitely the feeling I get when I listen to Jimi Hendrix. He was a brilliant musical guide.

The spiritual realm is far more real then the physical world! Music is like a vehicle to take you into the spirit world. Some people can receive messages from Heaven through the lyrics of songs. In answer to a question for instance ? The Great Spirit can bring an apt verse to mind that provides the answer to the conundrum. It’s a form of clairaudience. Songs that resonate with an individual can be used to send information to an individual. Spirit resonates with the ‘tuning’ that the recipient of the message has and sends the message with ‘the right vibes’, so to speak. This means that it would be difficult for someone who’s tuned in to Chopin to understand the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, although both were inspired by Spirit.

Composers are definitely tuned into the spirit world and inspired! Mozart’s music was completely different and inspires tranquility. Scientific research has even shown that music by Mozart can help to calm hysterical people and settle their minds.

You can tell a lot about music by its effect on you. Is it beautiful or is it ugly? Is it inspiring or is it oppressive? What impression does it have on your spirit?

What inspires so many people about a lot of the music of the Beatles is, I think, that it makes them feel happy. It’s fantastic music and it evokes good feelings. She Loves You! Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band! Hey Jude! Such enjoyable songs that inspire people around the world to join in and sing along with John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

Why is music so prevalent in our lives? Why do we connect so well with music?

According to the American Music Therapy Association:

Music is used in general hospitals to: alleviate pain in conjunction with anesthesia or pain medication: elevate patients’ mood and counteract depression; promote movement for physical rehabilitation; calm or sedate, often to induce sleep; counteract apprehension or fear; and lesson muscle tension for the purpose of relaxation, including the autonomic nervous system.

Music therapy is used in some psychiatric facilities, as well as in hospitals, nursing homes… and schools.

Chances are you’ve unknowingly developed your own form of music therapy. Have you ever felt low and played one of your favorite songs to soothe yourself? What about popping your favorite CD on to calm yourself down when you’re angry?

Music has a great way of touching people. Music can make you laugh, cry, shout and so much more. It’s also a great source of inspiration. Try this sometime and notice what happens: make yourself a cup of tea, sit down in your sofa and turn up your stereo as you play one of your favorite songs. Close your eyes, and soon you’ll find yourself creating mental images – matching the music you’re enjoying. Maybe you’ll even get a sense that the words of the song have a special ‘message’ for you too? And you’ll probably notice that you feel good within no time! Enjoy the Magical Music!

Author Bio: Cherokee Billie World renowned Native American Psychic Cherokee Billie has been working as a Clairvoyant advisor for over 25 years. She receives messages that will change your life! She helps her clients to connect with their Soul’s Path, bringing peace and joy into their daily lives Fast – Straightforward Answers! http://www.cherokeebillie.com