Four Mazurkas, Op.24

No.1 in G minor

No.2 in C major

No.3 in A flat major

No.4 in B flat minor

Chopin’s fourth set of mazurkas is in some ways - harmonically and even rhythmically - less adventurous than its predecessor. Written two years after the Op.17 set and published in 1836, it is remarkable above all for the expanded structure of its B flat minor finale. As if to compensate, the first and third mazurkas in the group, though no shorter than the average, are so shaped as to leave no room for a developed middle section. The con anima passage at the centre of No.1 in G minor consists of little more than repetitions of a key phrase from the expressive opening theme, accelerated and exposed to a variety of rhythmic stresses. No.2 in C major, on the other hand, does have a fully contrasting middle section in D flat major - presumably to offset the carefully preserved modal innocence of the outer sections. Thematically similar to the G minor Mazurka, though in a quicker tempo and a major key, No.3 in A flat resembles it also in structure, the central passage in this case upsetting the harmonic orientation before the unexpectedly early return of the main theme in the tonic.

The last Mazurka in the Op.24 set is one of the most interesting of its kind, not least because of its rondo-like structure. Approaching its B flat minor tonality obliquely, by way of a gradual contraction of the right-hand octave in the opening bars, it remains uncertain of its harmonic identity. The D flat major tonality of the scherzando first episode is clear enough, it is true, and the B flat minor return of the main theme only slightly less so. But the Lydian colouring of the sotto voce passage in octaves and the constantly modulating con anima second episode are both unsettling. The B flat minor ending is implied but, as it dies out on an unaccompanied and only fragmentary melodic line, not confirmed.