Melodic TransformationNocturne No. 1 for Piano

Music of the Night

We usually think of piano nocturnes as tranquil pieces, typically featuring a lyrical melody over left-hand arpeggios.  Yet some of the nocturnes of Chopin, widely regarded as the master of the genre, depart significantly from that model in their middle sections.  For example, his Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. 27/1, has a highly agitated B section that builds to a triple-forte climax.  A cadenza of powerful LH octaves leads back to the closing A section and imbues the latter with a feeling of unspeakable tragedy.

My Nocturne No. 1 for Piano starts peacefully, but gradually moves toward the phantasmagorical.  It opens with the traditional cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment, but the Agitato middle section is anything but tranquil.  In fact, it might seem like an entirely different piece of music, except that the thematic material very clearly derives from the opening theme. In fact, most of the motives come from the first five measures.

This Nocturne was one of my very earliest compositions, but I was already striving toward the same aesthetic ideal that permeates my later music. By using the same materials to express a variety of moods, I sought to attain unity within diversity.

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