Deuxieme Scherzo

In classical era, scherzo means ‘joke,’ and inserted in middle of sonata or symphony. However, Frederic Chopin composed scherzo in his style, and this post is about the second scherzo. It is b flat minor, and start out with presto, or very fast.

Beginning is sotto voce, or in small sound. Then, sudden burst comes out and soon repeats the very beginning. Another burst comes in A flat major, and then repeats the beginning. A while after, c minor chords are played, and D flat major is introduced. After descending scale in poco ritardando (bit slower), smooth melody is played in con anima, or with anima. Left hand broken chords are played in sempre legato (continuously smooth). Melody is played two times, and mood changes with C flat chord, with sempre piu crescendo (keeping increasing). The section is ended in lowest and highest D flat, and this is repeated once more, with few changes.

Next section is in A major, in sostenuto (keeping the note long enough) and sotto voce. After b minor melody, C sharp and G sharp are played ascending in delicatissimo, or delicately. After the repeated melody, C sharp is carefully pressed in slentando (slowing in pace), introducing new passage of espressivo, or having facial expression. Left bases are played in legato. After C sharp minor passage, it is changed to E major after poco ritardando and then a tempo (in orignial tempo, in this case, presto). E major passage is in leggiero (lightly), and increases by poco crescendo, piu crescendo, and piu crescendo ed animato. After the passage ends in E, the A major melody is repeated, until the next E major passage.

Then, the arpeggios are played furiously, leading to g minor in agitato, or intense. The rhythm is played in g minor, d minor, and then to E flat minor, ending in E major. Violent progress is made, and descend furiously to the b flat minor. In sempre con fuoco (constantly energetically), right hand plays the new melody while the left hand has descending b flat minor scales in octaves. However, as the piece goes, the intensity of music is decreased by sempre diminuendo (constantly decreasing), and e calando (getting weaker). The passage disappears in smorzando e retardando, or disappearing with slowing down.

After the disappearance of previous passage, the very first beginning is repeated, until the rapid arpeggio in D flat major. It suddenly goes transition to A major, and then develops into D flat major. Last part of the piece is played in piu mosso, or faster than before. In the scale of A-A-B flat-B flat-B-B-C, the music goes stretto e crescendo, or with gradually increasing speed and loudness. Right hand have descending arpeggio, while the left hand plays the melody in marcato (highlighting individual notes). Music goes toward the end in sempre piu mosso, and marks the grand finale with D flat major chord.

I think the music is attractive in its large scale, and how the overall trend is shifted from b flat minor to D flat major. I feel the music has splendor, and also the softness in parts of the music.