Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Frédéric Chopin (1,810–1,849)

First published: 1836
Key: G minor
Style: Romantic
Level: Licentiate
Roughly: RCM LRCM · ABRSM LRSM · Trinity LTCL · Henle 8
Lesson: L.3 Transform a theme without losing the long span
Musicianship: L.3 Transformed themes
Focus: Thematic return and transformation, long-range arrival planning, contrasting textures and continuity into the Presto con fuoco coda.

What its lesson teaches

L.3 Transform a theme without losing the long span

Prepare Chopin’s complete G-minor Ballade, Op. 23. Compare two appearances of a principal idea, recording what changes in harmony, register and texture before planning their different intensities. Connect those returns to the Presto coda rather than treating the coda as a separate speed test. The A-flat broken-octave warm-up trains the hands’ movement on its own; learn the notes and the harmony from the G-minor score.

Ideas: Character pieces and genres
Making a form map
Large forms and cycles
Theory cards: From form map to decisions
Tracing a development
Technique: G harmonic minor scale, hands together, 2 octaves
A-flat major broken octaves, hands together: align the changes

Edition and licence

Score: First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Website: https://chopinscores.org

Digital scores: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Adapted by Musalea: converted to MusicXML with every bar the converter misread rebuilt from the encoding and the performance markings restored; a complete cycle or sonata is joined in order without changing the music.

Practice tempos: from the encoding where it gives them, otherwise from Kullak's recommendations (1881–1883) or chosen by Musalea; they are practice targets, not the composer's metronome marks. The printed tempo words are kept and no number is shown in the score.

Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, first German edition, 1836, plate 5706

Encoding source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ · CC BY 4.0

BALLADE

First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions/blob/95dfb105c1669c72d10b04088566154f12d3dc1c/kern/023-1-BH.krn

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

The other lesson pieces of Licentiate

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor “Tempest”, Op. 31 No. 2: I. Largo – Allegro, Ludwig van Beethoven
Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor / D-sharp minor, BWV 853 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Rondo in A minor, K. 511, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, Frédéric Chopin
Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Images, première série: Hommage à Rameau, L. 110 / CD 105, Claude Debussy
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, Frédéric Chopin
Rondo à la mazur in F major, Op. 5, Frédéric Chopin
Images, première série: Mouvement, L. 110 / CD 105, Claude Debussy
Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4, Frédéric Chopin
Étude in D-flat major, Op. 25 No. 8, Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11: I. Allegro maestoso, Frédéric Chopin

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