ABSTRACT

The poems are by five of Chopin’s compatriots and all five poets were his immediate contemporaries. The songs of the Chopin-Witwicki partnership, with their dates of composition, are given below, with, if necessary, the literal English meaning of the title; the English and German titles of the standard editions of the songs are subjoined. Eight of his songs were written by the composer in the album he devised for the young Maria Wodzinska in 1836, as a kind of love offering. During December of 1853 his plans for the posthumous publication of Chopin’s works were announced in the Parisian press, and the news aroused surprise and resentment. It had been generally known amongst the composer’s friends and acquaintances that he wished his unpublished compositions to be burnt.