Royalty Free Romantic Chamber Music

Description: The Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54 is different from the other scherzos by Chopin. Close to the fairytale sphere, though devoid of elves and goblins, it is brighter than the others, written with a finer, lighter pen, though it too occasionally reminds us of the existence of shadows and frights. Two categories of expression form this pianistic poem, which delights us with the immaculate beauty of its sound: the expression of play and the expression of love. The central section of the E major Scherzo (lento, then sostenuto) is filled with thoughtful music, gazing at distant horizons, sounding like the expression of pure yet ardent love.

Description: The Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39, in C-sharp minor by Fr�d�ric Chopin, completed in 1839, was written in the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa on the Balearic island of Majorca, Spain. This is the most terse, ironic, and tightly constructed of the four scherzos, with an almost Beethovenian grandeur. The music is given over to a wild frenzy, mysteriously becalmed, then erupting a moment later with a return of the aggressive octaves.

Description: The Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39, in C-sharp minor by Fr�d�ric Chopin, completed in 1839, was written in the abandoned monastery of Valldemossa on the Balearic island of Majorca, Spain. This is the most terse, ironic, and tightly constructed of the four scherzos, with an almost Beethovenian grandeur. The music is given over to a wild frenzy, mysteriously becalmed, then erupting a moment later with a return of the aggressive octaves.

Description: The Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 was composed and published in 1837. Schumann compared this scherzo to a Byronic poem, "so overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt." The renowned sotto voce opening was a question and the second phrase the answer. For Chopin it was never questioning enough, never soft enough, never vaulted enough. It must be a charnel-house. In popular culture, the piece is heard in the Woody Woodpecker episode "Musical Moments."

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. This piece opens with a thundering five-note pattern in the left hand. Throughout the piece, the left hand continues this pattern as the right hand plays a powerful melody punctuated by trills, scales (including a rapid descending chromatic scale in thirds), and arpeggios. The piece closes with three booming unaccompanied notes - the lowest D on the piano. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by visions of blood, of earthly pleasure, of death, of the storm.

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. This piece is spacious and melodic in the left hand, with running semiquavers throughout in the right. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by playing water faeries, a pleasure boat.

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. In 6/8 time, this piece begins with a characteristic dotted rhythm (quaver, dotted quaver, semiquaver) that Scriabin was later to adopt in his early Chopinesque preludes. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by rebellion and impatience.

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. This piece consists of widely spaced, continuous triplet-quaver movement in both hands, which some pianists consider to rival the difficulty of Preludes No. 8 and No. 16. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by �wings, wings, that I may flee to you, o my beloved!�, heartfelt happiness.

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. This piece starts with six heavily accented chords before progressing to an impromptu-like passage in the right hand. The left hand mainly supports the right hand and repeats the same melody repeatedly. This piece is widely considered the most difficult of the set. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by descent into the abyss, Hades.

Description: Belongs to Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839. Chopin wrote them between 1835 and 1839, partly at Valldemossa, Majorca, where he spent the winter of 1838-39 and where he had fled with George Sand and her children to escape the damp Paris weather. In Majorca, Chopin had a copy of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, and as in each of Bach's two sets of preludes and fugues, his Op. 28 set comprises a complete cycle of the major and minor keys, albeit with a different ordering. This prelude recalls No. 1 in its brevity and textural uniformity. Lasting under 30 seconds, it is the shortest of the set. It�s mood and/or theme is characterized by fear, a stormy sea.