The Waltz in C♯ minor is a piano waltz composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1846–47, the second of the three waltzes of his Opus 64, and the companion to the “Minute Waltz” (Op. 64, No. 1). The second of the waltzes published as opus 64 was dedicated to another queen of the Paris salons – Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild, wife of the famous banker and art patron Nathaniel. Four years earlier, she had received a truly regal gift: the dedication of the F minor Ballade. The C sharp minor Waltz is also a masterpiece in its category – a gem of poetry, expressed in a concise, essential way
This Waltz takes the form of a ternary dance miniature; it is a dance with trio. The unforgettable opening theme is imbued with harmoniousness, sweetness and melancholy. A small anthology might be compiled from the terms through which commentators have endeavoured to convey its elusive aura. James Huneker deemed its first theme ‘a fascinating, lyrical sorrow’. Chopin has the melody of the trio played a little more slowly and in the key of D flat major, as he sometimes liked to do, altering the tone and timbre via an enharmonic change. With the utmost condensation, a flight of muted elation is effected over the space of barely a dozen bars or so. Chopin enriched the simple form in an unprecedented way: after the passage of each of the themes – both of them lyrical and cantabile in character – he set in motion the airy, ethereal moto perpetuo of a ritornel.
It consists of three main themes:
- Theme A tempo giusto chordal with a walking pace feel;
- Theme B più mosso (faster) — theme stated in running eighth notes, a diatonic progression of eight bars forming two periods of sixteen bars, with all harmony in the left hand.
- Theme C più lento (slower) — a sostenuto in the parallel key of C♯ major (D♭ major, enharmonic equivalent to C♯ major). Besides the slower general pace, the irregular melody is in quarter notes except for a few flourishes in eighth notes, giving this section the quality of an interlude before the dramatic restatement of Theme B.The overall layout of the piece is A B C B A B. While in rondo form, it still resembles the typical ternary structure of waltzes (AB CB AB). In an orchestrated version, it forms part of the ballet Les Sylphides.
An exemplar for the mélancolique-type waltz, which, during the second half of the century, turned into the valse triste, can be found in the Waltz in A minor, the second of opus 34. The C sharp minor Waltz brings music that is subtler still, even more externalised: its lyrical tone is marked by a unique kind of intimacy.
