A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Mazurka

by William Barclay Squire

MAZURKA, Mazourka, Masurek, or Masure, a national Polish dance, deriving its name from the ancient Palatinate of Masovia. Mazurkas were known as early as the 16th century; they originated in national songs^[1] accompanied with dancing. They were introduced into Germany by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (1733–1763), and after becoming fashionable in Paris, reached England towards 1845. The Mazurka was naturalised in Russia after the subjugation of Poland, but the Russian dance differs from the Polish in being performed by an indefinite number, while the latter is usually danced by four or eight couples. The Mazurka is remarkable for the variety and liberty allowed in its figures, and for the peculiar steps necessary to its performance. Indeed, the whole dance partakes of the character of an improvisation, even the invention of new steps and figures being allowable. The music (in 3-4 or 3-8 time) consists usually of two or four parts of eight bars, each part being repeated. In the earliest Mazurkas the bass was invariably on one note, usually the tonic. There is often a strong accent on the second beat of the bar, which was emphasized in the bass by the breaking off of the regular accompaniment. The tune should also end on the second beat of the bar, but in old Mazurkas there is often no definite conclusion, and the repeats are made ad libitum. The Tempo is much slower than that of the ordinary waltz. Chopin, who wrote eleven sets of Mazurkas, treated the dance in a new and characteristic manner. He extended its original forms, eliminated all vulgarity, introduced all sorts of Polish airs, and thus retained little more than the intensely national character of the original simple dance tune. (See Karasowski's Life of Chopin, chap, vii; and also the somewhat rhapsodical but still interesting remarks of Liszt in his essay on Chopin.) No less than 14 sets of his Mazurkas have been published, containing 52 in all (op. 6, 7, 17, 24, 30, 33, 41, 50, 56, 59, 63, 67, 68 and one without opus number). Weber gives the title 'Masurik' to the 4th of his six pieces for the P.F. à quatre mains (op. 10).

The following example is a simple Mazurka popular in the neighbourhood of Warsaw. The first part of the melody has a vocal accompaniment:—

[ W. B. S. ]

1. This feature it has retained. Chopin, in a letter of Aug. 2, 1829, says, 'the thought fortunately struck Maciejowski to write four stanzas for a Mazurka, and I set them to music.' (Karasowski, i. 80.)