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Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin's Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowsk

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Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin's Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowsk Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin’s Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowski BMUS, University of Victoria, 2009 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the School of Music Monika Zaborowski, 2013 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin’s Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowski BMUS, University of Victoria, 2009 Supervisory Committee Susan Lewis-Hammond, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Bruce Vogt, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Michelle Fillion, (School of Music) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Susan Lewis-Hammond, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Bruce Vogt, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Michelle Fillion, (School of Music) Departmental Member One of the major problems faced by performers of Chopin’s mazurkas is recapturing the elements that Chopin drew from Polish folk music. Although scholars from around 1900 exaggerated Chopin’s quotation of Polish folk tunes in their mixed agendas that related ‘Polishness’ to Chopin, many of the rudimentary and more complex elements of Polish folk music are present in his compositions. These elements affect such issues as rhythm and meter, tempo and tempo fluctuation, repetitive motives, undulating melodies, function of I and V harmonies. During his vacations in Szafarnia in the Kujawy region of Central Poland in his late teens, Chopin absorbed aspects of Kujaw performing traditions which served as impulses for his compositions. This study examines how certain qualities of movement or gesture experienced in Kujaw music are embedded in Chopin’s mazurka style. Modern performances of Chopin’s mazurkas are too often far removed from these original sources. This thesis aims to reconnect the pianist with the gestures embedded within Chopin’s mazurka styles by: i) assessing the gestural nuances in Kujaw folk music; ii) identifying these trends as gestures and notational elements in Chopin’s mazurkas; and iii) examining historical performances of Chopin’s mazurkas to demonstrate the techniques that performers have utilized to capture these folk patterns and traditions. Field recordings from the Kujaw region, and historical recordings of Chopin mazurkas played mostly by Polish pianists accompany the discussion. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ...................................................................................................... ii Abstract..............................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents............................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures.................................................................................................................... vi Abbreviations to Score Editions ......................................................................................viii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I – THE PROBLEM OF PERFORMANCE IN CHOPIN’S MAZURKAS ... 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 Methods and Source Material ..................................................................................... 9 Literature Review: Folk Music, Again?........................................................................ 12 What is a Mazurka? ...................................................................................................... 17 General Characteristics of Central Polish Folk Dance Music ...................................... 20 Chopin and Szafarnia.................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER II – GESTURAL PATTERNS IN KUJAW FOLK SONG........................... 29 ‘Przyśpiewek’: The Impact of the Ditty on Dance Customs......................................... 30 i. Polish Language and the Mazurka Rhythm............................................................... 32 ii. Further Temporal Factors in Kujaw Folk Song........................................................ 38 iii. The anacrusis. .......................................................................................................... 52 iv. Natural Chest Voice................................................................................................. 59 v. Melody ...................................................................................................................... 61 vi. Glissando ................................................................................................................. 66 Concluding Remarks..................................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER III – FOLK FIDDLING AND BASY ACCOMPANIMENT IN CHOPIN’S MAZURKAS .................................................................................................................... 71 Fiddling Sonorities in Chopin’s Mazurkas ................................................................... 72 Characteristics of Kujaw Folk Fiddling........................................................................ 76 Three Kujawian Performing Trends ............................................................................. 80 i. Traditional Sequence of Kujaw Dances..................................................................... 80 ii. Improvisation............................................................................................................ 86 The Guiding Impulses of Improvisation in Kujaw Fiddle Music............................. 87 iii. Embellishments ....................................................................................................... 96 ACCOMPANIMENT: Basy In Chopin’s Mazurkas................................................... 104 Concluding Remarks................................................................................................... 109 CHAPTER IV – CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 111 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 118 Discography ................................................................................................................ 125 Appendix A – Students’ observation on rhythm............................................................. 127 Appendix B – Chopin’s Letters to Family from Szafarnia............................................. 129 Appendix C – Tempo Rubato Transcriptions by Marian and Jadwiga Sobieski ............ 133 v List of Tables Table 1 Dudy and Basy in Chopin’s Mazurkas .............................................................. 105 vi List of Figures Figure 1 Geographic/Regional Distinctions in Polish Folk Meter.................................... 21 Figure 2 “Oj Magdalino” .................................................................................................. 31 Figure 3 Mazurka in F major, op.68 no.3 (Ekier)............................................................. 31 Figure 4 “Oj, Szwachy, Wy Szwachy” bridal capping song ............................................ 34 Figure 5 “Jestem Sobie Kujawionka” przyśpiewek .......................................................... 35 Figure 6 Rhythmic re-conceptualization of treatment of Przekwas’ performance of the mazurka rhythm. ............................................................................................................... 36 Figure 7 Mazurka in b minor, op.30 no.2 mm. 37-42 (Schirmer, accessed via Free- Scores.com)....................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 8 Mazurka in B-flat major, op.7 no.1 mm. 45-49 (Schirmer, accessed via Free- scores.com) ....................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 9 “Czerwone Jabłuszko, Czerwone jak Róża” bridal capping song...................... 43 Figure 10 “Czerwone Jabłuszko, Czerwone jak Róża” rubato in mirror image .............. 44 Figure 11 Mazurka in a minor, op.59 no.1 (Schirmer, accessed via Free-scores.com).... 44 Figure 12 Overlapping tetra-/pentachords creating an axis .............................................. 46 Figure 13 Relationship between text and melody............................................................. 46 Figure 14 “Skowroneczek Śpiwo, Dziń się Rozwidniwo” wedding song to greet guests 47 Figure 15 Mazurka in c-sharp minor, op.30 no.4 mm. 33-42 (Schirmer, accessed via Free- scores.com) ....................................................................................................................... 47 Figure 16 "Oj podkóweczki, oj dajcie ognia" przyśpiewek .............................................. 49 Figure 17 Mazurka in a minor, op.7 no.2 (Ekier) ............................................................. 50 Figure 18 Mazurka in g-sharp minor, op.33 no.1
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