After Chopin's death, Julian Fontana compiled and published eight mazurkas, including the Four Mazurkas, Op. 67. While Chopin had published his mazurkas in sets of three since Op. 50, raising questions about the appropriateness of a four-piece grouping, Fontana's combination of works, given his trusted relationship with Chopin, suggests an intention to preserve Chopin's characteristic style.

In both Op. 67 and Op. 68, the first piece is a vibrant mazurka in a major key, both marked 'Vivace'. Chopin employed a similar arrangement in works such as Op. 7, Op. 50, and Op. 63, suggesting that Fontana was aware of this tendency; however, these tempo markings have been removed in the Ekier edition. The tendency to place a minor-key mazurka at the end is a more pronounced characteristic in Chopin's mazurkas; with the exception of a few works where the order remains questionable, all works published during his lifetime conclude with a minor-key mazurka.

In addition to grouping pieces with musical ideas favored by Chopin, Fontana is thought to have combined the four works with a strong awareness of key relationships. In the case of Op. 68, the first and second pieces are in parallel keys, and the third and fourth pieces are in a tonic major/minor relationship. Furthermore, between the second and third pieces, keys with a very close relationship, specifically the parallel key of the subdominant, were chosen.

While the four mazurkas possess a certain coherence, this was not necessarily Chopin's intention. Particularly regarding key relationships, similar characteristics are not observed in mazurkas published during his lifetime, suggesting that these works should be considered distinct from those compiled by Chopin himself. The Ekier edition, which has been compiled in recent years, lists these works without opus numbers and in chronological order of composition. It is expected that the forthcoming Peters Urtext edition will adopt a similar approach. However, given the current lack of widespread adoption of a unified notation for these works, opus numbers will likely continue to serve as the standard notation for some time to come.

Mazurka in F Major, Op. 68-3

This mazurka is believed to have been written around the same time as the Mazurka Op. 68-1, from Chopin's first visit to Vienna (1829) until he left his homeland Poland (late 1830). Like other early mazurkas, it possesses a practical mazurka atmosphere, characterized by a simple musical form.

In the middle section, which modulates to B-flat major, a gypsy-like scale with a raised fourth degree resonates over open fifths played on B-flat and F, strongly evoking an ethnic flavor. It is also interesting to note that this section is marked 'Poco piu mosso,' a tempo change rarely seen in other Mazurkas. Mazurkas are said to incorporate elements of various Polish folk dances such as the Mazur, Oberek, Kujawiak, and Krakowiak. However, since these dances share common rhythmic patterns, the type of dance cannot be determined solely by rhythm. On the other hand, variations in tempo are characteristic elements of each dance, and the change in speed here clearly indicates a shift in the type of dance. From the rapid tempo and the swirling figures, it can be said that this middle section exhibits characteristics of the Oberek.