Ex. 7-3: Smutna rzeka

No. 3 of Chopin's Polish Songs (Op. 74), composed in 1831 to a poem by Stefan Witwicki, a poet and friend of Chopin. Chopin wrote it in Vienna, far from home, in the year of the November Uprising — Poland's revolt against Russian rule.

The poem is a sad folk song. A traveler asks the sad river why its waters run so high — is it the melting snow? No, the river answers: at its source a mother is weeping for her seven daughters, whom she raised and then buried. Her tears swell the river.

Chopin is remembered for his piano music, but he also wrote about 19 songs — private pieces for friends and for Polish circles abroad. Almost none were published while he lived. After his death, his friend Julian Fontana gathered them and published them as Op. 74 in 1857. Other songs from this set are also in this app. (Ex. 3-4: Życzenie by Frédéric Chopin, Ex. 12-3: Moja pieszczotka by Frédéric Chopin)

From the album Frederic Chopin Preludes and Songs by Islama Abdullayeva and Gulshan Mehdieva (2023; unavailable on Spotify)

Also on the album Chopin, F.: Songs by Joanna Kozlowska and Waldemar Malicki (2010)
Spotify