the other three, as most of its portions remain melancholic and profound. Although there are some substantial outbursts in the central sections of the music, the coda reveals its greatest momentum. gives a careful musical analysis of the ballade, characterising its "purposeful ambivalence". Samson divides the complex structure into sections, starting with the bell-like Introduction, bars 1–7: the slow waltz in the first theme and variations—Theme I in F minor, bars 7–22, Variation I, bars 23–36, and Variation II, bars 58–71; and the second theme, Theme II in the subdominant B flat major, bars 80–99, The pastoral second theme is a cross between a barcarolle and a chorale. This is followed by an episode in which the key passes to A-flat major. The return of the Introduction, in an unexpected key, is musically a moment of great pathos. As Samson writes: "The journey from this point to the reprise [of Theme II] is one of the most magical passages in Chopin. The main strands of Theme I are here isolated and presented in contrapuntal combination ... Moreover one of these strands is gradually and beautifully transformed into the unobtrusive return of the introduction in the remote foreground region of A major, a transition made possible by the shared repeated notes of the introduction and Theme I. This is the mid-point of the structure [and] enables his reprise to begin in the unexpected key of D minor." This further variation of Theme I, Variation III, accomplishes the "canonic aspirations" of previous thematic material, revealing its dynamism and its progressively contrapuntal and polyphonic texture. According to Samson, "The tonal setting of the reprise proves ingeniously deceptive, exploiting the minor third sequence built into Theme I to return the music very quickly to the tonic. The canonic element is thus absorbed unobtrusively into the harmonic flow of the original material." There is a fourth variation of Theme I, Variation IV, at bar 152. It has a "cantabile-decorative treatment of exquisitely moulded ornamental melody". At this point the whole movement at last begins to spring into bloom, as its "nocturne-like" embellishments in the high register become even more adventurous. The unexpected return to D-flat major and Theme II provides a climax of great majesty. Samson writes that: "It is indeed a glorious moment. The deceptive innocence of Theme II is transformed into a powerful apotheosis, building with ever more impassioned fervour towards ... the