Bach’s Influence on Chopin?

Some composers will forever remain the pillars in classical music and that’s for a reason. The names of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, for instance, are something musicians will rely on and by guided by for many generations to come. Out of these three, Bach’s name is perhaps the most often-mentioned when it comes to other composers’ influences.

J.S. Bach and F. Chopin

Music enthusiasts and just common listeners are awed by the music of Bach, needless to say. But other great composers were no less impressed by this great man’s work. Frédéric Chopin who himself had myriads of followers, was one of the most devoted fans of Bach’s music. He was so absorbed in playing his works that could flawlessly perform 14 preludes and fugues by Bach from memory saying that one can never forget how to play that.

Franz Liszt once mentioned that Chopin was Bach’s most enthusiastic pupil. Chopin took it for a rule himself and repeated it to his own pupils: “Always practice Bach!”. He would always shut himself up two weeks before the performance of his own concert and practice Bach for hours on end. He never rehearsed his own works.

The influence of Bach could not but manifest in Chopin’s own compositional style and there are a number of works that prove it with the help of a little analysis. One of such works is Chopin’s Mazurka No. 3, Op. 50. Besides the common Baroque techniques of composing like the polyphonic idea, he used very similar harmonic progressions and horizontalization of chords, so characteristic of Bach. At the same time, Chopin’s style remained unique and authentic.

Balcony Scene from Romeo & Juliet

The motion picture “Romeo and Juliet” is one of those cases when you might be totally indifferent about the movie itself but fall in love with the music. Soundtrack thus is an important part of any movie and sometimes it is even key to success. Recalling the topic of Romeo and Juliet at the time of St. Valentine’s celebrations should be the right thing to do, I thought!

The actual balcony of Juliet in Verona

Reading the names of composers like Craig Armstrong on the cover of the soundtrack album can already mean that we gonna encounter some beautiful and romantic musical settings. The list of artists is also a ‘speaking’ one: The Cardigans, Radiohead, Garbage – all was preparing us for a portion of love drama. The two volumes of the album were both well-sold and conquered a number of chart peaks, especially in Australia.

To me, the musical heart of the movie is not at all the dramatically charged Garbage performance, it rather hides in the sensual and soothing “Balcony Scene” composed by Craig Armstrong for one of the most touching moments in the entire story. Getting distracted from the theme, it may as well serve as a really relaxing piece of piano music for whenever an injection of peace and calm is needed.