Jaren Hinckley

TITLE: Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 (“Heroic” or “Drum”)

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:  I suspect most people have heard this piece before.  It’s fairly popular and has a catchy main melody:

Polonaise Op.53 in A flat major main melody

If you’ve never heard that before, go ahead and do a quick search for a recording on YouTube or Naxos and listen to it before you read on (it’s only 6 ½ minutes long).

Another detail about this piece is the fact that this is a polonaise, which is a type of Polish dance.  Chopin always felt loyalty to his homeland of Poland, even though he spent much of his career in France.  The middle section of this piece sounds somewhat like a military parade of sorts.

HIGHLIGHT: For me, the highlight is the main melody. It’s luxurious, catchy and memorable. It is featured at the beginning and then again at the end in a much grander way. And the third part of the phrase has an almost schmaltzy sentimental sound to it; almost cliché, yet still lovely.  Here’s the part I mean (first the main melody which ends with the schmaltzy part, then the schmaltzy part repeated a few times to get it to stick in your head):

Polonaise Op.53 schmaltzy part

Actually this schmaltzy part also contains something that I think may be unique to me, but perhaps some of you suffer from this too; I call it an “ear bug.” Perhaps you’ve heard the term “ear worm” which refers to a song that gets stuck in your head and you can’t get rid of it. An “ear bug” is different than an “ear worm;” it is when a small part of a melody sounds note-for-note like a small part of a completely different piece.  I notice this all the time. I do not think one composer plagiarized another composer in this case. It’s simply that the Chopin piece reminds me of this other piece every time I hear it—an ear bug! Here’s the song it makes me think of every single time I hear it:

Golden Ticket-1st example

Here’s the same “bug” from later in the song:

Golden Ticket-2nd example

By the way, how have I never noticed before what a bad singer Charlie was?

And here’s the comparison back and forth between Chopin and the first example:

Polonaise Op. 53 – 1st example of ear bug

And the comparison between Chopin and the second example:

Polonaise Op. 53 – 2nd example of ear bug

The existence of this ear bug doesn’t ruin the piece for me at all.  It’s just an amusing observation that makes me smile every time I hear it.

Do any of you have any ear bugs that afflict you?  If so, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about them.  Perhaps I’ll feature them in a future blog post.

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY CHOPIN?: Over 70 more opus numbers.  But I’ll do it!