The Pièces caractéristiques, op. 27 present two different aspects of Polish music, beginning with the choice of genres rooted in different regional traditions (the mazur from Mazovia and the krakowiak from Lesser Poland) and encompassing a variety of solutions in the areas of form, metre-rhythm, tempo and harmony. The first of the dances, the Mazur in D minor, in 3/4 time and a moderate tempo, assumes a classic ternary reprise form. The outer sections are based on a one-bar motif with a dotted rhythm characteristic of the mazur, while the uniformity of the rhythmic layer is allied to textural and harmonic variety. The motif appears in different keys, and its intervallic contours are subjected to minor changes, which chromatically enriches the musical material. The contrasting middle section, marked energico, is distinguished by numerous irregular accents, typical of the mazur, and a dense chordal texture, broken up with short passages of an imitative character. The Krakowiak in C minor, in 2/4 and a quick tempo, develops through contrasting segments juxtaposed in the fashion of rondo form. The work is preceded by an introduction, which may be read as a reference to the sung lead-in that traditionally begins a folk krakowiak. The syncopated rhythm proper to this genre occurs mainly in the section that serves as a refrain, while in the episodes the composer employs variant forms typical of traditional music. The changes of key, tempo and texture that characterise the Krakowiak in C minor reflect the performance marking capriccioso, underscoring the lively, unpredictable course of the work. The two dances that make up the Pièces caractéristiques, op. 27, differing in terms of provenance, design and character, constitute mutually complementary pictures of traditional Polish music, showing not only the diversity of regional traditions, but also the possibility of referring to its idiom as a means of expressing cultural identity.