Chopin's 21 Nocturnes

Main article:  Chopin's Nocturnes

                Nocturnes (as in nocturnal) are works that are in some way about  

        night, whether evoking moonlight, or a dream (or nightmare), or anything  
        else.  All but three of Chopin's 21 nocturnes are in ternary form.  They often  
        feature a gentle melancholy mood with a clear melody floating over a left-
        hand accompaniment of broken chords (arpeggios).  Repetitions of the main
        theme generally add increasingly ornate embellishments. 

       2 Piano bass line (left hand) styles  -                                             (online piano)       

             Stride bass -  The root note of the chord (i.e. that is the C of the C major
                                   or C minor scale is struck low on the piano on the first beat 
                                   of the measure, and then the full chord  (C,E, & G) is struck 
                                   on the second beat one octave higher on the keyboard.

             Pedal Points and Ostinato  -   Again, the root note is struck low on the piano 
                                   on beat 1, but then the next 3 beats are the three notes (or more) 
                                   of the chord broken up (played one note at a time).  This 
                                   gives the music a gentle and flowing nature.

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (in C# minor) - 1801

       John Field  (1782 - 1837)  Irish                 Field's 18 nocturnes 

                John Field was a highly regarded composer in his day and his piano 
                compositions influenced Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms.  Field 
                wrote 18 nocturnes between 1812 and 1836 was a  Chopin huge fan of 
                Field.  

           "None have quite attained to these vague eolian (wind) harmonies, these 
            half-formed  sighs floating through the air, softly lamenting and dissolved  
           in delicious melancholy.  Nobody has even attempted this peculiar style, and 
           especially none of those who heard Field play himself, or rather who heard 
           him dream his music in moments when he entirely abandoned himself to his 
           inspiration."  
 
                                                     Franz Liszt 


       Audio recording - 18 nocturnes by John Field  -  Benjamin Frith, piano  (92 min)



       Nocturne in B flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1  (#1)  (c. 1830)  -  Vladimir Ashkenazy   
                                       (2:30 - partial)

               This nocturne has a rhythmic freedom that came to characterize Chopin's 

         later work. The left hand has an unbroken sequence of eighth notes in 

          simple arpeggios throughout the entire piece, while the right hand moves 

          freedom, occasionally in patterns of seven, eleven, twenty, and 

          twenty-two in the form of polyrhythms.


        Nocturne in E♭ major, Op. 9, No. 2  (#2)  (c. 1830)  -  Valentina Lisitsa  
                                                                                                                  (4:00)

                                         An article on Nocturne No. 2 

                Chopin's most famous nocturne.  It is a major key and is in 12/8 time 
                (four groups of thee beats each) in stride style (root-chord-chord, root-
                chord-chord) much like a waltz. 
 
                There are two themes played in A→A→B→A→B→A order.  The tempo 
                is very flexible.  The mood is soft and gentle and somewhat melancholic.


        Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No 1  (# 13)  (c. 1840)   -  Tiffany Poon  (6:10) 

                                                   An article on Nocturne No. 13

                This nocturne is often considered one of Chopin's greatest emotional 
                 achievements.  It is in a minor key and in 4/4 time and is a ternary 
                 (A→B→A) format.  The slow a movement is quiet and expresses 
                 a lot of grief.  
 
                 The middle movement provides some temporary relief by moving to 
                 C major for awhile, but then uses increasingly turbulent Liszt-like 
                 chromatic octaves to express maximum grief and anguish before 
                 terminating in a short, quieter, ending.  This contrast is a departure 
                 from Chopin's other nocturnes. 

                     ‘sounds like a lofty, inspired song filled with the gravity of 
                            its message, genuine pathos and a tragic majesty.’

                 Notes on Nocturne No. 13  


All of the nocturnes:

  Op. 9, Three Nocturnes  (1830–32):

        1.  Nocturne in B♭ minor   (No. 1)
        2.  Nocturne in E♭ major   (No. 2) 
        3.  Nocturne in B major     (No. 3)

  Op. 15, Three Nocturnes  (1830–33):

        1.  Nocturne in F major     (No. 4) 
        2.  Nocturne in F♯ major   (No. 5)
        3.  Nocturne in G minor    (No. 6) 

  Op. 27, Two Nocturnes  (1835-6):

        1.  Nocturne in C♯ minor  (No. 7)
        2.  Nocturne in D♭ major  (No. 8) 

  Op. 32, Two Nocturnes  (1836–37):

        1.  Nocturne in B major    (No. 9) 
        2.  Nocturne in A♭ major  (No. 10)

  Op. 37, Two Nocturnes  (1838–40):

        1.  Nocturne in G minor    (No. 11)
        2.  Nocturne in G major    (No. 12)

  Op. 48, Two Nocturnes  (1840–41):

         1.  Nocturne in C minor   (No. 13)
         2.  Nocturne in F♯ minor    (No. 14)

  Op. 55, Two Nocturnes  (1843–44):

         1.  Nocturne in F minor    (No. 15)
         2.  Nocturne in E♭ major  (No. 16)

  Op. 62, Two Nocturnes  (1846):

         1.  Nocturne in B major   (No. 17)
         2.  Nocturne in E major   (No. 18)


Posthumously published:

    With opus number - 

         Op. posth. 72 (No.2 and No.3 are works other than Nocturnes):

             1.  Nocturne in E minor   (No. 19)  (1827–29)

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      Without opus number -

 

                  Nocturne in C♯ minor, Lento con gran espressione , P. 1/16  (No. 20)  (1830)

                   Nocturne in C minor, P. 2/8  (No. 21)  (1837)