Scherzos

Scherzos. Fryderyk Chopin. , 'How should gravity array itself when jest is already darkly robed?' , , Robert Schumann, In the tradition of the genre, the scherzo, which in Italian means 'joke', altered in terms of forms and function, although it retained its light and cheerful mood. Only in the output of Beethoven did it acquire expression full of restlessness. Chopin adopted that model, isolated the scherzo from the sonata cycle and turned it into an elaborate, independent work in one movement. Previously associated with lightness and humour, the genre changed its character entirely, becoming a virtuosic and dramatic work., In Chopin's scherzos, the unbridled Romantic emotionality , in the outer sections is contrasted with deeply moving lyrical middle sections. In the Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20, Chopin quotes the carol-lullaby 'Lulajże Jezuniu', which brings a nostalgic soothing.