Polish Nationalism in Chopin's Works

Polish Nationalism in Frederic Chopin’s Compositions Frederic Chopin was born in the year 1810, in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1849, at the young age of 39 (Thompson, 113). He was also known as “the Poet of the Piano” due to his nuance, his expressive depth and his ability to conjure up the melody of the human voice from the instrument’s keys (http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/poland503/chopin.html). “Chopin epitomizes the figure of the “Romantic Artist”: withdrawn, temperamental, talented and doomed to a premature death from tuberculosis.”(Thompson, 112) As he had a small and frail physique, he used the beautiful tones, rhythmic flexibility, atmospheric uses of the pedal and poetic subtleties in dynamics of his compositions to fascinate his audiences instead of attempting to draw “bigger” sounds from the piano (Kamien, 323). Nationalism can be defined as patriotic feelings, principles, or efforts (Oxford Dictionary). The theme of nationalism can be seen in segments of Chopin’s compositions. Chopin expressed his love of Poland in most of his mazurkas and polonaises. In these, he captured the spirit of the Polish people (Kamien, 324). The most “well-known” nationalistic parts of Chopin’s compositions are Christmas carol, Lulajże Jezuniu (in the B minor Scherzo, Op. 20) and the hymn, Boże coś Polskę (in the E-flat major Largo). In a fragment of the composition (196 – 200), the solemn melody is almost exactly the same as the theme from the Lenten Polish, jak Ty klęczysz. The only difference between both tunes is the slight change in melody. This religious Polish song, Ach mój Jezu, is a calm and moderately paced song, describing the many obstacles and pitfalls Jesus Christ had gone through to protect the people. A part of the translated text is as follows:
Ah, my Jesus, as you kneel in the Garden of Gethsemane bloody!
There Cie Angel in sorrow enjoyed,
Composition world was comforted.
Come, my Jesus,

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