The mazurka originated in the Polish province of Mazovia, near Warsaw. In the seventeenth century, the dance began to spread beyond the boundaries of Poland. Stylized mazurkas, such as Chopin's, combine aspects of this and several other dances, but some characteristics are consistently present: an accented third beat (occasionally the second) in a 3/4 measure; the use of both the natural and raised versions of some scale degrees, particularly the fourth; and a drone bass. During the 1830s and 1840s "art" music mazurkas were very popular in drawing rooms throughout Europe.

Some of the melodies of the mazurkas are unusual in comparison to the melodies of European "art" music. Many of these are related to folk mazurkas in their "modular" melodies consisting of tiny rhythmic and melodic units. Also, some use cross rhythms, chromatic scales, and modes typically not found in Western music. Often, we find remote keys used as colorful excursions from the tonic.

Most of Chopin's Mazurkas are in strict ternary form, some of them actually sporting a da capo to indicate the return to the first section. Chopin's later Mazurkas are more stylized than the earlier ones and are in many cases the testing ground for some of his most experimental ideas. Unlike other Romantic-era manifestations of "folk" music, Chopin's Mazurkas contain no actual folk tunes. He uses typical rhythms associated with Polish music, fragments of Polish melodies and Polish rhythmic and cadential formulas and combines them in an original way. Chopin's mazurkas are far more advanced than those by his contemporaries. Chopin borrowed sounds he found outside traditional European "art" music and used them to create music within that tradition. Some consider Chopin's mazurkas to be the most original of his works.

Composed in 1837-8, Chopin's Four Mazurkas, Op. 33, are in G sharp minor, D major, C major and B minor. They were first published in 1838 in Leipzig.

Although the basic structural aspects we find in Chopin's early mazurkas are present in the more mature works of Op. 33, the proportions of those earlier works are greatly expanded in their younger siblings. The fourth of the Op. 33 set, in B minor, begins with a two-part, lyrical melody that spins out over a span of twenty-four measures. Chopin repeats this passage in full; thus, forty-eight measures pass before the contrasting theme appears. When it does appear, the contrast is drastic, created by loud, aggressive chords, dotted rhythms and a harmony that pivots between B flat major and E flat minor. After the very brief contrasting theme we hear a literal repeat of both themes in their entirety.

The B major trio, with its delicate, chromatic opening melody, is also sprawling. The device of reiteration Chopin uses in Op. 33, No. 2 appears in No. 4 and is most notable at the end of the trio, where a single melodic and rhythmic cell appears twelve times in eighteen measures, without accompaniment, making the figure even more prominent. This figure, drawn from the beginning of the trio, stands in for the typical, "rounding" return of the first trio theme. After the final, literal, return of the main theme, the piece closes with a coda that metrically stretches the falling fifth motive that closes the main theme.

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The mazurka originated in the Polish province of Mazovia, near Warsaw. In the seventeenth century, the dance began to spread beyond the boundaries of Poland. Stylized mazurkas, such as Chopin's, combine aspects of this and several other dances, but some characteristics are consistently present: an accented third beat (occasionally the second) in a 3/4 measure; the use of both the natural and raised versions of some scale degrees, particularly the fourth; and a drone bass. During the 1830s and 1840s "art" music mazurkas were very popular in drawing rooms throughout Europe.

Some of the melodies of the mazurkas are unusual in comparison to the melodies of European "art" music. Many of these are related to folk mazurkas in their "modular" melodies consisting of tiny rhythmic and melodic units. Also, some use cross rhythms, chromatic scales, and modes typically not found in Western music. Often, we find remote keys used as colorful excursions from the tonic.

Most of Chopin's Mazurkas are in strict ternary form, some of them actually sporting a da capo to indicate the return to the first section. Chopin's later Mazurkas are more stylized than the earlier ones and are in many cases the testing ground for some of his most experimental ideas. Unlike other Romantic-era manifestations of "folk" music, Chopin's Mazurkas contain no actual folk tunes. He uses typical rhythms associated with Polish music, fragments of Polish melodies and Polish rhythmic and cadential formulas and combines them in an original way. Chopin's mazurkas are far more advanced than those by his contemporaries. Chopin borrowed sounds he found outside the European "art" music tradition and used them to create music within that tradition. Some consider Chopin's mazurkas to be the most original of his works.

Composed in 1837-8, Chopin's Four Mazurkas, Op. 33, are in G sharp minor, D major, C major and B minor. They were first published in 1838 in Leipzig.

One the longest of Chopin's mazurkas, the Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2, begins without an introduction. Its opening eight-measure theme is a spinning out of rising and falling eighth notes that remains solidly in D major. Instead of providing contrasting thematic material in the first section, Chopin transposes the first theme to the dominant, creating only harmonic contrast. The usual "rounding" return of the opening material occurs, then Chopin proceeds to the trio after a presenting new melody, in B flat major/minor. An aggressive, insistent rhythmic cell creates drastic contrast with the preceding fluid melodies, while the reiteration of this cell not only hypnotizes the listener but provides a transition to the trio, the first theme of which maintains the same rhythm. Such repetition is a device we find with increasing frequency in the mazurkas from Op. 33 on. The reprise of the first half includes the transposed segment, after which Chopin embarks on another passage of reiteration: he repeats the final note of the theme over a recurrent rhythmic pattern and drone bass to create a coda that leaves no doubt the piece is in D major.

The D major Mazurka is notable because its outer sections are completely diatonic, contributing to a rustic atmosphere, while the trio provides the kind of harmonic contrast we are more likely to find in European "art" music. Also, it is unusual for Chopin to include such a significant coda in a mazurka that does not close a published set.

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This is a lovely mazurka that has generated a fair share of controversy. After a performance of it in the late 1830s, Chopin and Meyerbeer got into a discussion over it, which soon developed into a heated argument, apparently because of the latter's misunderstanding of the meter of the piece, which is triple, not duple as Meyerbeer had claimed. The irony to this story is that the work itself is as gentle and serene as almost anything the composer wrote.

This C major mazurka, marked Semplice, opens with an elegant, gentle theme that, like so many of the composer's melodies, is tinged with a slight melancholy. The brief middle section is by contrast robust and assertive, though in actuality it is hardly vigorous or muscular in its livelier demeanor and moderately louder dynamics. The main theme returns and the piece ends quietly, its melancholy overtones more prominent. While this is certainly a work of high quality, it is not the most popular mazurka in the Op. 33 set, that honor falling to No. 25, the B minor, which, at about five minutes, is also the longest in the group. This C major mazurka lasts a mere two minutes in a typical performance.

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This G sharp minor mazurka is an interesting piece both musically and in an historical sense as it relates to the composer's personal life. It was written immediately after Chopin wrote his famous Funeral March (1837), which was said to be the by-product of a deep depression he suffered from his breakup with Maria Wodzinski, the teenage pianist whose protective parents took a dim view of the composer's ill health and what they deemed his unstable lifestyle. This mazurka is, like the Funeral March, a dark creation, but does not possess that more famous work's morbid character.

The Mazurka No. 22, marked Mesto, begins hesitantly, gently. The textures are uncommonly barren for Chopin, the music sounding deliberately skeletal in its hobbling elegance. The main theme is lovely and seems in search or lost in its speech-inflected gait. In the end, its listless character sabotages any hopes of finding whatever musical solution might abate its struggle. The piece is short, lasting about two minutes, but its emotional impact is powerful. This is a fine effort, the leadoff work in one of the more popular sets of Chopin's mazurkas.

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The nineteenth century saw the emergence of several new forms and genres, in some part as a departure from the great sonata form enlarged and expanded by Beethoven. As a result, many composers, especially for the piano, were turning towards more intimate character pieces. These miniatures allowed for the brief exploration of an idea, whether technical or emotional. Among the new genres appearing at the time was Chopin's Mazurka, a fusion of three Polish dance forms with the classical traditions of the composer's homeland. The three dance forms, the Mazur, the Kujawiak, and the Oberek, are sometimes found in their pure form, but often are merged with each other or with other genres or styles. The Mazurka enabled Chopin to explore many different dynamic, harmonic, and melodic colors, and to create many different personalities and characteristics. The result is a genre that can't be described universally, each piece being unique.

The Mazurkas of opus 33 each present distinct traits and characteristics. The first, marked Lento, has a lyrical, expressive melody line over a waltz pattern in the bass. The mood shifts effortlessly between mournful and hopeful, with a cherished and delicate intimacy. The second Mazurka is a true Oberek, impetuous, fast, and with strong, irregular accents. The mood is joyous, with playful, comic tremolo figures. The coda is free and full of flurries. The third piece of the collection, marked Semplice, is truly a simple and innocent approach to the genre. The sweet, tender melodic line is supported by subtly accented second beats, keeping the flavor of the dance. The final Mazurka adds rhythmic interest to the set, with the grace notes and trills bringing a rustic, native feel. The piece is written in rondo form, with several different characters appearing in the episodes between the recurring original theme.

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