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Chopin, Frederic : Nocturne No.15 f-moll Op.55-1

Work Overview

Music ID : 23154
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:nocturne
Total Playing Time:4 min 00 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (2)

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: June 20, 2018
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

The form is ABA, but the A section is further divided into ABABA.

The A section is analyzed as follows:

  • A: 1-8, 9-16
  • B: 17-24
  • A: 25-32
  • B: 33-40
  • A: 40-48

Let's consider the first A section, measures 1-16. This section is divided into 1-8 and 9-16, but there isn't a significant difference. Therefore, we will take 1-8 as an example. These 1-8 measures can be divided into three phrases: 1-2, 3-4, and 5-8. What I want to consider with you here is the goal of the phrase. For example, looking at measures 1-2, the melody line, broadly speaking, can be divided into four notes: F, E-flat, D-flat, and C, which form a descending shape. Dynamically, which note should be the loudest? In terms of pitch, it's F, and the Schirmer edition I possess has a small diminuendo marking. Therefore, one shaping method is to give the most volume to F and then gradually decrease it. This is certainly a valid approach.

Another possibility is the exact opposite pattern: a shaping where the volume increases as you move to the right, reaching the final C. The effective aspect of this shaping is that the bass note reaching the leading tone E natural can be felt as the point of highest tension. Personally, I would prioritize this shaping, but it is up to the performer.

Let's assume a shaping where you 'gradually crescendo along a descending scale.' In measure 2, the lowest note C appears on beats 1, 2, and 3. Which C should be the loudest? Personally, I feel it should be the second one, i.e., the C on beat 2, and that the C on beat 3 should be weaker than the preceding D-flat, but this is left to the performer's discretion.

From a musical perspective, I desire a freely singing quality for beats 1-2 of measure 2, and I believe this section can be treated improvisationally. In other words, not playing like a metronome is the means to express this measure. Similarly, measure 4 is the same, but since measure 4 has an ornament, it requires even more time.

In any case, the half note C on beat 3 of measure 2 is like a comma in a sentence, and the same applies to measure 4. And the F in measure 8 becomes the period in a sentence. This F is originally a resolution note of a chord and the final note of a phrase, so it usually fades away, but before that, we must discuss the key of F minor.

Since Bach, the key of F minor has been a very special key, filled with sadness, as seen in the Inventions, Sinfonias, and Well-Tempered Clavier. Haydn's F minor Fantasy and Beethoven's Appassionata are also in F minor. And so is Chopin's Ballade No. 4. Chopin's Op. 10-9 is also in F minor. In Op. 10-9, there is a crescendo indication towards the end of the phrase. Considering this, the first melodic note in measure 8, the half note F, could potentially be the loudest note within this phrase. Especially since a Neapolitan sixth chord appears in measure 6 just before it, creating a point of very high tension. The melody in measures 7-8 can descend as A-flat, G, F, or conversely, it can ascend. For your reference.

Now, from measure 17, which is the B section within A, I feel it's a part where the music begins to move forward a bit more positively. The tempo, though only slightly, could also become a bit faster in a forward-moving way. The tension in measures 19-20 should be heightened more than in 17-18, and since measure 20 is judged to be the point of highest tension so far, the volume should appropriately increase.

From here on, it's a repetition, but please try to introduce variations so that the performance doesn't become monotonous.

From measure 48, the B section begins. The B section extends to measure 72, and you should aim to create an agitated and restless atmosphere.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou

Author : Ueda, Yasushi

Last Updated: January 1, 2010
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

Deux Nocturnes Op.55

These two nocturnes were composed in 1843, and their first editions were published in Paris (M. Schlesinger, 1844), Leipzig (Breitkopf und Härtel, 1844), and London (Wessel, 1859). The dedicatee, Jane Wilhelmina Stirling (1804-1859), was a pupil of Chopin, who ardently admired her teacher and harbored romantic feelings for him. Born into a wealthy Scottish family, she assisted Chopin in various ways from the time she met him in Paris until her death. Although her excessive kindness often troubled Chopin, he maintained his courtesy towards this good-natured woman. The Chopin memorabilia and documentary records she collected have become important resources for Chopin studies. This work is considered to have been composed around the time they met.

These nocturnes strongly reflect not only the vocal style of contemporary opera arias but also an interest in Baroque style, particularly contrapuntal writing. Chopin rarely applied counterpoint strictly in his own compositions, with the exception of the two-part fugues written as studies, but these two pieces reveal his aspiration for counterpoint. Nevertheless, he had diligently studied counterpoint since his time in Poland, and in Paris, he resumed his studies in 1841 with Luigi Cherubini's treatise Cours de contrepoint et de fugue (Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue), Cherubini being the director of the Paris Conservatoire and an authority on counterpoint.

No. 1 in F minor

Following the previous Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 1, in this piece too, the left-hand accompaniment provides the bass and various voices that fill out the middle register, while the right hand carries the lyrical melody. The form, like other nocturnes, is a three-part form (ABA'), but it is characteristic of Chopin to always introduce something different from what came before within the same form. A characteristic feature of this nocturne, though not immediately apparent, is its strong reflection of Baroque writing.

Section A consists of 48 measures. Focusing on the left-hand bass, only five notes are used during this section: C, E (F-flat), F, G, and A-flat. Furthermore, the bass motif E-F-G-A-flat is repeated eight times. This recalls Baroque genres such as the chaconne or passacaglia, which feature variations over a repeating bass line.

Section B, beginning at measure 48, features a lyrical melody (measure 57) following a dramatic low-register unison. While this melody uses the same accompaniment pattern as Op. 48, No. 2 (No. 14), attention should be paid here to the polyphonic treatment of the right hand. Here, a highly contrapuntal treatment is observed, where a counter-melody is placed in the middle voice, and suspensions resolve to a sixth or third against the uppermost voice (measures 58, 62). Here too, the Baroque style makes its appearance.

The main melody of Section A', beginning at measure 74, appears only once as a variation of the opening four measures, immediately followed by a lengthy stretto (measures 87-97) that occupies approximately one-quarter of the entire piece. In early nocturnes, such as Op. 9 (Nos. 1-9), a virtuosic and ornamental cadenza was typically placed at the end of the piece. However, as Chopin progressed towards his later works, the endings became more meticulously crafted from the perspective of harmonic and dramatic development. The stretto in this piece, particularly in its length and style, which is far removed from the tranquility of the main theme, represents a unique ending gesture among the 21 nocturnes. In this stretto, the tonality shifts from F minor to F major, and the piece concludes in that key. The ending in the parallel major key is the same as in the previous Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 2 (No. 14). (Ueda Yasushi)

Writer: Ueda, Yasushi
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