ition]

Of the fourth and glorious Ballade in F minor dedicated to Baronne C.
de Rothschild I could write a volume. It is Chopin in his most
reflective, yet lyric mood. Lyrism is the keynote of the work, a
passionate lyrism, with a note of self-absorption, suppressed
feeling--truly Slavic, this shyness!--and a concentration that is
remarkable even for Chopin. The narrative tone is missing after the
first page, a rather moody and melancholic pondering usurping its
place. It is the mood of a man who examines with morbid, curious
insistence the malady that is devouring his soul. This Ballade is the
companion of the Fantaisie-Polonaise, but as a Ballade "fully worthy of
its sisters," to quote Niecks. It was published December, 1843. The
theme in F minor has the elusive charm of a slow, mournful valse, that
returns twice, bejewelled, yet never overladen. Here is the very
apotheosis of the ornament; the figuration sets off the idea in
dazzling relief. There are episodes, transitional passage work,
distinguished by novelty and the finest art. At no place is there
display for display's sake. The cadenza in A is a pause for breath,
rather a sigh, before the rigorously logical imitations which presage
the re-entrance of the theme. How wonderfully the introduction comes in
for its share of thoughtful treatment. What a harmonist! And consider
the D flat scale runs in the left hand; how suave, how satisfying is
this page. I select for especial admiration this modulatory passage:

[Musical score excerpt]

And what could be more evocative of dramatic suspense than the sixteen
bars before the mad, terrifying coda! How the solemn splendors of the
half notes weave an atmosphere of mystic tragedy! This soul-suspension
recalls Maeterlinck. Here is the episode:

[Musical score excerpt]

A story of de Lenz that lends itself to quotation is about this piece:

Tausig impressed me deeply in his interpretation of Chopin's
Ballade in F minor. It has three requirements: The
comprehension of the programme as a whole,--for Chopin writes
according to a programme, to the situations in life best known
to, and understood by himself; and in an adequate manner; the
conquest of the stupendous difficulties in complicated
figures, winding harmonies and formidable passages.

Tausig fulfilled these requirements, presenting an embodiment
of the signification and the feeling of the work. The Ballade--
andante con moto, six-eighths--b