ZAL

[spencervirt]

I first read about this polish word "Zal" on Youtube, actually. I was reading a post by Valentina Lisitsa about how an understanding of "zal" is so crucial to understanding Chopin's work. She said that it loosely translates to sadness and longing among other things. Apparently it is very hard to translate and is best described by music.

Are any of you familiar with this word?

Using what I understand of the word, the nocturnes seem to exemplify this.

[gerryjay]

Dear Spencer,
Well...I can't speak or understand a single word in Polish. Nevertheless, your description make me think about the word - in portuguese - saudade (which is accepted to have no precise translation in English - or in any other language I know, for that matter). Perhaps both words are somehow related.

Best regards,
Jay.