Comparing the Clinical Course of Tuberculosis with the Musical Flow of Chopin’s Prelude No. 4

Authors

  • Vernon Hoeppner University of Saskatchewan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47513/mmd.v8i4.464

Abstract

Frederic Chopin is a widely known composer and pianist who probably died of tuberculosis at age 39. The symptoms of the disease dominated much of his life, starting from early adulthood. He was extraordinarily creative, preferring to express his emotions through music, telling his piano things that weighed heavily on his mind.  Early in his life, as he perused art, he would hear music; when he said his goodbyes he did so with music. The dominant weight that he carried privately, but grew heavier on his mind, with time was his illness, tuberculosis. His sister probably and friends whose deaths he’d witnessed also had tuberculosis. He was aware that he had a disease without hope and he foresaw his own death. He composed the Prelude No. 4 in E minor in Majorca during the winter of 1838-39 when his symptoms brought him near to death.

The Prelude has been described by experts as an expression of illness. Chopin requested that it be played at his funeral. While we do not know his thoughts about the Prelude, this paper considers how he expressed himself with music, the gathering burden of tuberculosis, and compares the clinical course of tuberculosis with the musical course of the Prelude.

  

Keywords: Chopin, music, prelude, tuberculosis

Spanish

Comparación el curso clínico de la Tuberculosis con el flujo musical del Preludio nro. 4 de Chopin

 Frederic Chopin es un compositor y pianista ampliamente conocido que murió de una supuesta tuberculosis a la edad de 39 años. Los síntomas de su enfermedad  dominaron la mayor parte de su vida, comenzando en la temprana adultez. Él fue extraordinariamente creativo, prefiriendo expresar sus emociones a través de la música, utilizando el piano para expresar cuestiones que pesaban mucho en su mente. Tempranamente en su vida, mientras se encaminaba hacia el arte , él escuchaba música, cuando fue el momento de las despedidas también lo hizo con la música. El peso dominante que llevaba de manera privada, pero que crecía en el tiempo en su mente fue su enfermedad, la tuberculosis. Fue testigo de la muerte de su hermana y de amigos que también tuvieron tuberculosis. Estaba consciente que la enfermedad que tenía era una lenta condena, y sin esperanza el previó su propia muerte. Compuso el preludio Nro 4 en Mi menor en Mayorca, durante el invierno del 1838/39 cuando sus síntomas lo llevaron cerca de la muerte. Este preludio ha sido descripto por expertos como una expresión de la enfermedad. Chopin pidió que la obra sea ejecutada en su funeral. Si bien no conocemos sus pensamientos acerca del Preludio, este trabajo considera el modo en el que  se expresó con la música, la carga de la tuberculosis y compara el curso clínico de la enfermedad con el curso musical del Preludio

Palabras claves: Chopin , musica , preludio , tuberculosis 

 

German

Vergleich des klinischen Verlaufs von Tuberkulose mit dem musikalischen Fluss von Chopin’s Prelude No. 4

Vernon H. Hoeppner

Frederic Chopin ist ein weithin bekannter Komponist und Pianist, der im Alter von 39 Jahren an vermuteter Tuberkulose starb.  Die Symptome der Krankheit dominierten die meiste Zeit seines Lebens von Beginn seines frühen Erwachsenenlebens an. Er war außergewöhnlich kreativ,  er drückte  seine Gefühle vorzugsweise durch Musik aus, und nutzte das Klavier, um Dinge  auszudrücken, die schwer auf seiner Seele lagen. Schon früh in seinem Leben, von der Kunst überzeugt, hörte er Musik; wenn immer er sich verabschiedete, tat er das mit Musik. Der dominierende Schmerz, den er privat zu tragen hatte und der mit der Zeit  immer schwerer  seine Seele belastete, war seine Krankheit, die Tuberkulose. Eine Schwester und Freunde, deren Tod er miterlebte, hatten ebenfalls Tuberkulose. Er wusste,  dass er eine Krankheit hatte, die sich schicksalhaft hinzog, ohne seinen eigenen Tod vorhersagen zu können. Während des Winters 1938/39 auf Mallorca komponierte er das Prélude No 4, in der Zeit, als ihn seine Symptome beinahe töteten. Experten beschrieben dieses Prèlude als Ausdruck seiner Krankheit. Chopin bestimmte, dass es bei seiner Beerdigung bespielt werden solle. Wir kennen seine Gedanken über das Prèlude nicht – dieser Artikel denkt darüber nach, wie er sich selbst durch Musik ausdrückte, die gesammelte Last der Tuberkulose, und vergleicht den klinischen Verlauf von Tuberkulose mit dem musikalischen Verlauf  des Prèludes.

Keywords: Chopin, Musik, Prelude, Tuberkulose

 

Italian

Confrontando il Decorso Cliico della Tubercolosi con il Flusso della Musica di Chopin’s Prelude No. 4

Vernon H. Hoeppner

 Frederic Chopin è un compositore e un pianista molto conosciuto che è morto di sospetta tubercolosi all’età di 39 anni. I sintomi della malattia hanno dominato gran parte della sua vita, a partire dalla prima età adulta. Era estremamente creativo, preferendo di esprimere le sue emozioni attraverso la musica, usando il pianoforte per esprimere I problemi che pesavano pesantemente sulla sua mente. All’inizio della sua vita, mentre guardava l’arte, sentiva la musica; quando ha detto I suoi addii lo ha fatto con la musica. Il peso dominante che portava in privato, ma che cresceva più pesante  nella sua mente, con il tempo era la sua malattia, la tubercolosi. Sua sorella e I suoi amici la cui morte era testimone, avevano anche loro la tubercolosi. Era consapevole del fatto di avere una malattia in cui la sorte indugiava, e senza speranza previde la propria morte. Ha compost oil preludio n 4 in Mi minore a Majorca durante l’inverno del 1838-39 quando I suoi sintomi lo hanno portato vicino alla morte. Il preludio è stato descritto dagli esperti come espressione di malattia. Chopin ha chiesto che al suo funerale lo avrebbero suonato. Anche se non conosciamo il suo pensiero circa il Preludio, questo documento considera come egli si espresse con la musica, l’onere di raccolta della tubercolosi’ e confront ail decorso clinico della tubercolosi con il corso musicale del Preludio.

Parole Chiave: Chopin, musica, preludio, tubercolosi

 

Chinese

肺結核臨床病程與蕭邦第四號前奏曲音樂流動之比較

蕭邦是為人所熟知的作曲家與鋼琴家,他在39歲時疑似死於肺結核。這些疾病的症狀從他的成年早期即支配著他大部分的生活。蕭邦非常富於創意,喜歡透過音樂表達他的情緒,用鋼琴來表現壓在他心頭的沉重問題。在蕭邦生命早期,他追求藝術,聆聽音樂,而到了生命盡頭,他也以音樂向生命告別。他獨自扛下隨著時間在心中越來越沉重地負擔─他的疾病─肺結核。他曾目睹姊姊與一些朋友同樣因為肺結核而離世。他知道自己在厄運中徘徊,毫無希望的預見了自己的死亡。1838-39年的冬天,他的症狀已逐步帶領他走向死亡,他在馬略卡島創作了第四號E小調前奏曲。這首前奏曲被形容為透徹的表現出疾病的狀態。蕭邦自己要求在他的葬禮上演奏這首曲子。我們或許無從得知蕭邦對這首前奏曲的想法,但僅以本文探討他如何透過音樂表達自我─肺結核帶來的沉痾,並以此前奏曲的音樂進程與肺結核的臨床病程兩相比較。

 

Japanese

ショパンのプレリュード4番における音楽的流れと、肺結核の進行段階の比較

 Vernon H. Hoeppner

フレデリック・ショパンは、世界に知られた作曲家およびピアニストであり、肺結核により39歳で死没した。この病気の症状は成人になってからすぐ始まっており、彼の人生のほとんどを占めた。彼は、並外れた創造性を持っていて、自身の感情を音楽でくまなく表現することを好み、ピアノ演奏を通じて自分の精神状態に重くのしかかっていた問題を表していた。彼は若い頃から音楽を聴き芸術を探求していたが、人生に別れを感じたとき音楽にも別れを告げた。 私生活で時間と共に彼を苦しめた大きな重荷は、彼の持病である肺結核であった。彼の妹や友人たちも同じ病に苦しみ、ショパンは彼らを看取っていた。彼は自身の病気に運命を感じ、絶望的に死を覚悟していた。ショパンは、プレリュード4番、イ短調を 1838年末から1839年にかけた冬の時期に作曲し、この間彼の症状はほぼ死期に近づいていた。

このプレリュードは、専門家たちによっても、病の表現であると言われている。ショパンが、自身の葬儀で弾いてほしいと依頼した曲でもある。我々は、彼がプレリュードに対して感じていた本当の気持ちはわからないが、本論文では彼が音楽で自身や肺結核の辛さをどのように表現したかについて考察し、肺結核の進行状態とプレリュードの音楽的展開を比較する。

キーワード:ショパン、音楽、プレリュード、肺結核


Korean

쇼팽의 서곡 No.4의 음악적 흐름과 결핵의 임상학적 과정 비교하기

Vernon H. Hoeppner

쇼팽은 널리 알려진 작곡가이자 피아니스트이며, 39세 나이에 결핵으로 죽었다. 그 질병의 증상들은 성인기 초반에 시작되어 그의 삶의 대부분을 지배했다. 그는 아주 창의적이었으며, 자신의 감정을 음악으로 표현하는 것을 좋아하였고, 피아노로 내면의 중요한 문제들을 표현했다. 생애 초반, 그는 예술에 대한 진지함을 가지고 음악을 들었다. 그는 작별을 고할 때도 음악으로 했다. 그는 이러한 음악에 대한 진중함을 은밀하게 유지하고자 하였으나 그의 질병은 시간이 갈수록 마음속에서 그를 더무겁게 했다. 그가 죽음을 목격했던 그의 누이와 친구들도 결핵을 앓았다. 그는 죽게 될 질병을 갖고 있다는 것을 인식했으며, 희망 없이 자신의 죽음을 예견했다. 그는 그의 증상이 그를 죽음으로 내몰던 1838-39년 겨울 동안 Majorca에서 Prelude No.4 in E minor를 작곡했다.

전문가들은 그 곡이 질병을 표현한 것이라고 말한다. 쇼팽은 그 곡을 자신의 장례식에서 연주해 달라고 요구했다. 우리가 그 곡에 대한 그의 생각을 알지 못하지만, 본 논문은 그가 음악으로 자기 자신을 표현한 방법과 결핵을 고려하며 작곡되었을 서곡의 음악적 과정과 결핵의 임상학적 과정을 비교했다.

 

키워드: 쇼팽, 음악, 서곡, 결핵

 

Author Biography

Vernon Hoeppner, University of Saskatchewan

Professor of Medicine

Department of Medicine

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