蕭邦《四首鋼琴即興曲》之分析與探討

Abstract

「即興曲」( Improptu )一詞，一般是指作曲家未經事先準備而臨時創作的樂曲，也可能是突發時的靈感創作，因此一般篇幅都不大。到了浪漫時期，「即興曲」成為作曲家展現個人風格之樂曲，屬於當時代盛行的個性小品(Character picec), 它沒有固定的曲式，但通常以三段體(ABA)呈現；這種形式的曲種是經由作曲家接觸文學、美術、建築…等，其他領域藝術所得到的啟發。 蕭邦( Frederic Chopin, 1810- 1849 )是浪漫樂派重要的作曲家之一，同時也被公認為「鋼琴詩人」。他在1835-1842年共寫了四首《即興曲》，其作品內容非常富有詩意，並將「即興曲」的特性發揮的淋漓盡致；創作手法看來像是自由、獨特，但卻是結構性非常嚴密的形式。本論文將從蕭邦四首《即興曲》分別為《降A大調即興曲，作品29》、《升F大調即興曲，作品36》、《降G大調即興曲，作品51》、《升c小調幻想即興曲，作品66》(Impromptu in A flat major, Op. 29)﹑(Impromptu in F sharp major, Op. 36)﹑(Impromptu in G flat major, Op. 51)﹑ (Fantasie-Impromptu in c sharp minor, Op. 66)為主，研究範圍包括作曲家生平介紹、音樂家創作風格特色、樂曲結構之分析及演奏技巧詮釋。共分為八章，第一章緒論，說明研究動機與方法；第二章敘述蕭邦生平、重要作品及音樂風格特色；第三章，介紹十七至十九世紀「即興曲」的發展與演變；第四至第七章，則針對蕭邦四首《即興曲》之樂曲架構及重要的音樂動機與素材作為分析，並對樂曲詮釋作探討，最後為結論。 藉由蒐集中外文書目、期刊、及搜尋一些網路資料、參考著名音樂辭典及閱讀他人撰寫之學術論文等，對於作曲家生平、風格，獲得一個較完整的概念。熟練樂曲、分析樂曲結構之組成、和聲進行、曲式及調性等；研究過程時常與指導教授討論演奏技巧、音樂語法。最後，綜合所有資料整理與歸納，再將所探究之結果分析總結。

An impromptu generally refers to a piece of music composed in an unpremeditated or sudden inspiration manner; hence, it generally has a shorter length. In the Romantic Period, impromptus became a form of music used by composers to express personal styles; they fell into the then popular “character piece” genre. Although unconstrained by any specific style, impromptus mostly took the ternary A-B-A form, which was inspired by literature, fine arts, architecture, and other domains of art. The highly poetic “Four Impromptus” completed between 1835 and 1842 by virtuoso Romantic Period composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), also known as “the poet of the piano”, provide perfect examples of the characteristics of the impromptu, which is seemingly unbridled, idiosyncratic and yet rigorously structured. Centered on the Four Impromptus (namely, “Impromptu No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 29”, “Impromptu No. 2 in F sharp major, Op. 36”, “Impromptu No. 3 in G flat major, Op. 51” and “Fantaisie-Impromptu in c sharp minor, Op. 66”) this study explored Chopin’s life, ca-reer and musical style structure as a composer, as well as his interpretive piano tech-niques, in eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introductory statement on the study motives and methodology; Chapter 2 includes Chopin’s biography, his masterpieces and unique musical style; Chapter 3 describes how impromptus evolved between the 17th and 19th centuries; Chapters 4 to 7 offer an analysis of the structure of Chopin’s Four Impromptus, including their underlying motifs, elements and how they were interpreted. Conclusions are presented in the final chapter. By collecting literature periodicals published worldwide and consulting information online, major music dictionaries and academic papers, the author has obtained a more comprehensive knowledge about Chopin’s life andmusical style, and has become fa-miliar with the compositions, as well as the musician’s approach to arranging structural components, choral parts, forms and tonalities. During the process of this study, the author engaged in frequent discussions with his advisor about Chopin’s performance techniques and unique musical language. All the information gathered was sorted and generalized, and the analytical results were summarized into conclusions.