La Polonesa

http://www.melomanos.com/la-musica/formas-
musicales/polonesa/
Es una danza polaca de movimiento moderado y en comps de
3/4. En su origen era una marcha solemne que daba principio y
fin a una fiesta realizada en casa de una familia patricia; las
parejas, tomadas de las manos y guiadas por el dueo de la
casa, atravesaban las salas, las galeras y los jardines, haciendo
los ms extravagantes movimientos.
Las melodas de la polonesa suelen ser de una estructura
simple, a base de frases breves. Posee un ritmo muy
caracterstico en el que se combinan corcheas y semicorcheas.

Durante el S.XVIII se produjo la estilizacin de la polonesa. Es

en esta poca donde la polonesa se entronca dentro de la Suite,
tomando la forma de Zarabanda o de Rond. Las polonesas
de Bach ofrecen los rasgos caractersticos del comps ternario,
las frases sin anacrusas y un ritmo caracterstico con la
acentuacin en el segundo tiempo.
Ejemplos famosos de polonesas barrocas son los que
contemplamos en las siguientes obras de Bach: Suite francesa
n1y Suite orquestal n2. Compositores
como Telemann, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert y Weber escrib
ieron polonesas.
Pero es Chopin, por evidentes razones, quien fij el modelo
maestro de la polonesa. Clebres son sus 14 polonesas op.26,
40, 44, 53 y 71. Existen notables ejemplos en obras
de Schumann, Liszt, Musorgsky, Tchaicovsky y Glinka.
http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/genre/detail/id/12

Fryderyk Chopin's polonaises are tightly linked to the national strand in his
music. The most celebrated among them are difficult to understand without an
awareness of Chopin's patriotic feelings and the tragic situation of Poland during
his lifetime. He composed them from his childhood to his late years; altogether,
he left eighteen works in the genre: sixteen piano polonaises, one for piano and
orchestra and one for piano and cello [see Chamber music]. Their style changed
over time, and their rank and importance grew gradually, evolving from
conventional salon miniatures to expansive dance poems.
Yet all the Chopin polonaises, regardless of when they were written, are
connected by the supreme idea of the polonaise-the most important Polish
national dance. The polonaise developed in Poland long before Chopin's time,
and since the Baroque era it had been a fashionable society dance at many
European courts. The most eminent composers not infrequently wrote
polonaises, including Bach, Telemann, Beethoven and Weber. In Poland, the
polonaise ("Polish dance"), also known under other names, including "chodzony",
"chmielowy" and "wieczkowy", was danced by the Polish gentry, townsfolk and
populace. The polonaise in Polish music was given an artistic form by Micha
Kleofas Ogiski (1765-1833), composer of the famous polonaise "Poegnanie
Ojczyzny" [Farewell to the homeland]. The young Chopin was also familiar with
the polonaises of Maria Szymanowska, Jzef Elsner and Karol Kurpiski, and
imitated many of these homespun models as a child.
The basic features of an authentic polonaise are 3/4 time, a moderate tempo, a
distinguished character and typical rhythmic formulas. From Ogiski's times
onwards, the usual form of the artistic polonaise was a tripartite A B (trio) A.
Chopin's earliest polonaises - in B flat major and in G minor - are the work of a
seven-year-old boy, and in spite of their conventionality they are really quite
charming, revealing the talent of this Polish wunderkind. In successive
polonaises from his childhood and youth in Warsaw we note a gradual
enrichment of pianistic and compositional means (the childhood Polonaise in A
flat major from 1821, the polonaises in G sharp minor and B flat minor).
Increasingly bold virtuosity appears in further youthful Warsaw polonaises from
the years 1826-1828: in D minor, F minor and B flat major. These are already
longer pieces, pianistically highly effective (in the "brilliant" style). These works,
which were no more than testimony to the young composer's development, were
not included by Chopin in the "official" strand of his oeuvre.
Chopin wrote his most splendid polonaises subsequent to his departure from
Poland. They are seven in number:
2 Polonaises, Op. 26, in C sharp minor and E flat minor (completed
1835, published 1836)
2 Polonaises, Op. 40, in A major and C minor (1838-1839,
published 1840)
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44 (composed and published 1841)
Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53 (1842-1843, published 1843)
Polonaise-fantasy in A flat major, Op. 61 (composed and published
1846)
There is also the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22 [see
Works for piano and orchestra]
With the Polonaises, Op. 26 Chopin opened a new chapter in the history of the
genre: henceforth he would abandon conventional stylisations and head in the
direction of the "epic-dramatic poem" (Zieliski). Each of these seven mature
works has its own distinctive shape, pianistic style and expression. The Polonaise
in E flat minor from Op. 26 is already marked by strong dramatic elements.
Relatively the most traditional are the two works from Op. 40: the A major
displays features of the heroic polonaise, whilst the C minor is elegiac, even
tragic in expression (both types refer to Ogiski). The last three polonaises are
grand dance poems, far removed from the earlier conventions of genre and
form. The F sharp minor Polonaise, Op. 44 is close in its epic-dramatic gesture to
the idea of the free Romantic fantasy "on a polonaise theme", and it is unusual in
the appearance of a mazurka in its middle section, as a contrasting lyrical
passage. The Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53 brings back the grand pianistic
panache and heroic tone; the stormy octaves in the middle section have evoked
to the minds of commentators the image of attacking hussars. Chopin's final
work in this genre, the late Polonaise-fantasy in A flat major, possesses the most
complex form, the unravelling of which represents a true challenge to pianists
and listeners alike.
Artur Bielecki