Nocturne Op.9 No.1

This work is the first piece in the collection of nocturnes that Chopin composed intermittently and was the first to be published. It is written in a three-part form with an expanded middle section. In the first 18 measures, an emotionally rich and undulating melody is sung by the right hand, where Chopin meticulously notates dynamics and nuances. For example, in measure 3, despite the right hand playing a fast ornamental passage, notes with and without staccato are differentiated (Musical Example 1).

Musical Example 1: Measures 3-5

Furthermore, in measures 15 and 16, instructions for “finger pedaling” are seen, where notes in the left-hand accompaniment pattern are held down to prevent the sound from breaking even when the pedal is changed (precedents can be found in Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 31-2, etc.).

Musical Example 2: Measures 15-16, F in the 4th-6th beats of the left hand in each measure indicates finger pedaling.

From measure 19, the middle section in D-flat major begins. For the next 32 measures, the right hand continuously plays the melody in octaves. Here, instructions demanding quietness, such as ppp and sotto voce, coexist with challenging techniques like octave appoggiaturas (measure 30), thus requiring a high level of control to achieve a beautiful singing quality. This 32-measure middle section is written in a binary form: a-a’- a-a’- b-a’- b-a’ (written without repeat signs). The fragmented musical progression is particularly striking: in a’, it suddenly modulates to D major, a semitone higher, only to immediately return to the original D-flat major, and then the dynamic suddenly becomes f. Such modulations to distant keys are seen in genres like fantasias and impromptus, reflecting the improvisational practices of the time. The harmonic movement shown in Musical Example 3 is likely a product of accidental hand movements rather than theoretical design. Generally, such crawling hand movements across the keyboard are a source of Chopin’s unique harmonic idiom.

Musical Example 3: Measures 23-26, a chromatic modulation to D major is seen in measure 24.

In the following 8 measures, a new theme emerges over a G-flat major dominant seventh chord, formed by adding C-flat to the D-flat major tonic chord, but the melody is played over the same arpeggiated chord without the third (this accompaniment of open fifths continues for 16 measures with the same chord). The accompaniment consisting of a succession of perfect fifths evokes a musette (bagpipe). Furthermore, a melody suitable for a flute is played above it.

Musical Example 4: Measures 51-54

After a two-measure bridge, the same theme reappears in a slightly altered form, but the flute-like melody now appears as two voices imitating a horn figure (indeed, horn fifths can be heard here).

Musical Example 5: Measures 61-64

Both the flute and horn are instruments symbolically used to depict pastoral scenes, and musette chords are often employed to create a rustic, folk-like atmosphere. Thus, these 16 measures can be regarded as a fleeting pastoral.

As the pastoral scene passes, the music seems to move towards G-flat major, but from measure 67, a modulation occurs within the repeated accompaniment pattern, returning to the tonic key of B-flat minor, and the first theme is recapitulated in a shortened form. The motif from the latter half of measure 79 is repeated multiple times, and the piece concludes quietly with repeated B-flat major chords after a descending figure of intense dissonance (a dominant ninth with a lowered fifth placed on the tonic) starting from high E-flat-G-flat, as if emotions suddenly exploded. However, with an appoggiatura G-flat on the second to last note, the piece remains somewhat unresolved until the very end.

Musical Example 6: Last 4 measures. B, C-flat, and A collide in the first measure, creating an intense sound.

(Hayashikawa Takashi)