Chopin and Willows

[gardenmoma]

Does anyone know of any "connection" between Chopin and willow trees?

The Chopin Momument in Lazienki Park (Warsaw) is of the pianist sitting under a willow tree.

In the garden (described as an international botanic garden) at his birthplace, Zelazowa Wola (near Warsaw), there is a "poetic / romantic" scene of a rather ornate bridge over a stream with a large weeping willow next to it.

Thanks,

GM

[leslie]

GM

Chopin was born in a village, Zelazowa Wola - 40 miles from Warszawa. The village is on the Masovian plains, an area known as the ''Heart of Poland.'' The landscape is absolutely flat but crisscrossed by meandering streams lined with willow trees. More than one biographer has heard some echo of the delicate strength of these Masovian willows in Chopin's music. And Chopin himself wrote, ''I am a true Masovian.''
Leslie

[gardenmoma]

Hi Leslie!

Neat interpretation Works for me...I need to go back through my photos to see if I have any Polish countryside photos with willows.

Any more ideas out there?

GM

[bujno]

I think that Leslie's explanation is exact. Chopin liked to listen to the wind in the willows, at least so is said and in some of the most heart-breaking romantic peaces of his music there's a kind of this sad, nostaligic sound... Btw. do you know that in spite of what is generally assumed Mazowsze -Mazovia is not that flat at all. There are quite a few hills, valleys even small cliffs, and above all sand dunes covered with pine forest.

[leslie]

Hi
I wonder what Chopin's music would have sounded like if he had gone to the English Mountain and Lake District!! Instead of weeping willows, I think his Nocturnes would have come out a la style of Wagner!! I much prefer his willows' influence though in spite of being Anglik.
I like the style of your posting so far and I can see you are going to be a very useful member of the forum - - - as long as you can stand the insults that will surely come your way! Or is it just me that gets them?!
Pozdrawiam
Leslie

[bujno]

Thank you very much!
So, Dance of the Walkiria the Chopin way? A very good idea. Chopin would most probably be able to make the Walkirias the gentle, peace-loving, and loving , lovely girls

[pieter]

leslie said:

Hi
I wonder what Chopin's music would have sounded like if he had gone to the English Mountain and Lake District!! Instead of weeping willows, I think his Nocturnes would have come out a la style of Wagner!! I much prefer his willows' influence though in spite of being Anglik.
I like the style of your posting so far and I can see you are going to be a very useful member of the forum - - - as long as you can stand the insults that will surely come your way! Or is it just me that gets them?!
Pozdrawiam
Leslie

Leslie,

Fortunately Chopin is Chopin and Wagner is Wagner, it is an interesting though though
what sort of music Chopin would have made out of a visit of the English Mountain and Lake District, the German Schwartzwald (Black Forest) or the rough nature of Norway.
I can listen to Chopin for hours, unfortunately I am not able to do the same with
Wagner. ;D

- - - as long as you can stand the insults that will surely come your way! Or is it just me that gets them?!

More people are mocked sometimes, that is the unfortunately lesser side of the Internet and Proboards, people feel free to attack someone, because they are anonimously.
When the sarcasm or cynism towards a person gets to nasty or hostile it is the task of
the Moderator or administrator to react, give a warning and in the last opinion block or
remove a topic or person. I hope that you realise that you are respected by the overall
majority over here. I like mockery, prickery remarks and a little quarrel between people
sometimes (like you have in your exellent British comedies), but I don't like degrading
or insulting people, and I hope that my fellow Moderators and the administrators agree on that with me.

Pieter

[nancy]

gardenmoma said:

..I need to go back through my photos to see if I have any Polish countryside photos with willows.

GM

GM,

When I think of Poland, I think of willow trees. I have several photos with willows, and some time ago I was bugging the forum as to why the trees were all so strangley shaped (I think they cut the branches in a distinctive pattern).

I will have to post some of my willow pictures, to me they "are" Poland.

[sciwriter]

Association of willow trees with Polish nation may have inspired Chopin to compose "The Revolutionary Etude." Carl

[gardenmoma]

Carl and all... thank you for your input. I need to look u[ "The Revolutionary Etude" - doesn't ring a bell - wonder if I have been calling it something else!

Nancy...the willows or *osiers you saw were coppiced (I'm making a verb out of the noun "copse" which is a small stand of trees or thicket. Leslie might have difficulty with my doing this...) Anyway, this is the term I've always heard associated with this type of prunning. It is done to obtain long thin branches (*withes) for basket-making, low fences, etc. These trees will remain shrubby and keep producing the withes. I have two large trunk-size baskets of willow, I believe, made in Poland. I bought them at "Basketville" in Putney, VT several years back.

Another type of pruning on larger trees you might have noticed is called "pollarding" - the trees sort of end up looking like they've had bad hairs days Again, I need to go back and look at my pictures, but the only trees I remember like this were tilias (lindens / *limes) and sycamores (*plane trees). This is done mainly to admit more light to pass through the foliage than would happen if a nice customary crown were allowed to develope

I've seen major street trees pruned like this...the ones facing east and the morning sun were pollarded;" the ones facing west and the hotter afternoon sun were left "natural," so the buildings behind the trees were shaded!

*See...I can also do British "tree talk."

GM

[leslie]

GM
'Bark, bark, bark' - that is the only British 'tree talk' I know so you may be well upon me!
Leslie