Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
The two Nocturnes (Op. 27) and dedicated to Mme. la
Comtesse d'Appony, are Chopin's third publication in
the genre. Many feel these two works to be among the
very best of hi...(+)
Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
The two Nocturnes (Op. 27) and dedicated to Mme. la
Comtesse d'Appony, are Chopin's third publication in
the genre. Many feel these two works to be among the
very best of his compositions; they are certainly two
of the most powerful--and, as fate would have it,
famous--nocturnes he ever penned. The composer's
conception of nocturne form (and sentiment), as
embodied here, is virtually unrecognizable as that
which he inherited from Irish composer John Field.
The first of the pair is cast in the melancholy,
brooding key of C sharp minor, and employs the typical
ABA form with coda. There is a piquant (very temporary)
inability to select between the minor and major third
scale degrees throughout the opening gesture of the
work. The arpeggiated left-hand figuration, common
throughout the Nocturnes, adds perhaps more to the
atmosphere, in this case morbid and intentionally
grating, than does the accompaniment of any other
Nocturne. The central section is of a far more overtly
passionate nature, rising to climaxes of great
emotional extremes (hopeful longing, bitterness and
resentment). The reprise of the A section is tragic
indeed; the resigned coda is of its composer's finest
silk.
Although originally composed for solo piano, I created
this interpretation of the Nocturne in C# Minor (Op. 27
No. 1) for Flute & Concert (Pedal) Harp.
SHEET MUSIC