Nocturnes, Op. 55 (Chopin)

The two Nocturnes, Op. 55 by Frédéric Chopin, the fifteenth and sixteenth of his nocturnes, were composed between 1842 and 1844, and published in August 1844. Chopin dedicated them to his pupil Jane Stirling.

Composed in 1842-1844, the F minor nocturne has an average duration of about 5 minutes. The piece has been played by many famous pianists.

The piece is in ternary form (ABA). Its main theme has a slow 4/4 with a heavy, steady crotchet beat. It starts with the main theme which repeats once with only minor variations. The right hand plays a slow melody and the left hand accompanies with a bass note and then a chord, in crotchets. The second section is then played with, again, the right-hand playing the melody and the left-hand accompanying with bass notes and a chord. Although there are occasional changes to this pattern, for example the left-hand plays a sustained minim with a crotchet chord above. The main theme then comes back in with some variations to the first two times it was played: a triplet phrase is added to the 3rd bar of the section. The second section is again repeated with no variations, followed immediately by the first section again with the triplet sequence.

A tempo change to più mosso speeds up the piece. It starts off with some fast, triplet quavers and then three loud (forte) chords. This then repeats three further times until a completely new section comes in with a melody in the right hand and triplet broken chords in the left (see score on right). A descending scale and some large chords completes this section and leads it onto the first theme again.

There is then a large variation on the first theme where the main tune is played with other notes in between. There is then a large section of arpeggios and finishing off on 6 final chords. Modulating to the parallel key of F major for an interrupted final cadence.

There are two short chorales. The first, at bars 71-72 marks the transition from B section back to A, while the second, at 98-101, concludes the piece, in F major.

The piece was described by Frederick Niecks (Chopin's biographer) as: "we will note only the flebile (feeble) dolcezza of the first and the last section, and the inferiority of the more impassioned middle section".Allmusic is more flattering: The melody has a "bittersweet tang", the B section "dramatic and anxious" culminating in an "exciting stretto", the whole "an effective entry-level piece for those players and listeners seeking a clear glimpse of the composer's basic style."

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Wikipedia