Nocturne No. 1 in B‑Flat Minor

Chopin’s first published nocturnes, the Op. 9 set of three (1832), took those of John Field as a departure point, not least in their prioritising expression over virtuosity. The first of the Op. 9 Nocturnes establishes the texture most commonly associated with the genre, with a floating melody over widely spaced accompanying arpeggios, demanding the sustaining pedal to achieve the trademark lyrical glow and cushioned sonority. Chopin introduces a contrasting, gently obsessive middle section, the music adopting a darker coloration despite modulating to the relative major key of D flat before a shortened return of the opening section. The melodic line in the outer sections is ornately embellished in a style that is fundamentally operatic. Although translating gestures from the opera house to the keyboard was not in itself new, no one—not even Hummel, another influence on Chopin’s early writing—integrated such vocal-inspired decoration to the extent Chopin did, a feature he developed further in later nocturnes. About Chopin's Nocturnes In the early 19th century, a nocturne was usually a work for voice, often a duet performed to enliven a domestic evening, an evocation of moonlit stillness or dreams of love. The title was first applied to a solo piano work by John Field, an Irish composer living in St Petersburg, who retained the quality of song, albeit without words. Chopin adopted this and, as so often with genres he made his own, elevated it to a new level of individuality and expressive richness. Chopin never lost sight of the form’s vocal origins—the bel canto style of Italian opera is another key influence—and his 21 Nocturnes remain, unlike Field’s, a core part of the piano’s repertoire.