Composed to fulfill a contract with Heugel & Cie, signed in 1905, it was written during the composition of the opera Pénélope (1907-1912). On September 10, 1908, Fauré sent the following letter to his wife from Lausanne, where he was recuperating: “I have left the work on Pénélope for two days to compose Nocturne No. 10, so that I can give a piano piece to Heugel. Tomorrow, this nocturne will surely be finished or well advanced, so that I can return to Pénélope and put the final touch on this piano piece before the eve of the new year.” (※1) In a letter dated September 15, five days later, it is stated that Nocturne No. 10 was completed, with the hope that it would belong among the previous nine nocturnes (※2). Thus, it can be inferred that the piece was largely completed within a few days.

Similar to Nocturne No. 9, which appears to have been composed around the same time, this piece employs the technique of imitating short musical ideas throughout the entire composition. In this regard, it is considered one of the works that exemplify the stylistic characteristics of Fauré's late piano music.

Notes

※1 Gabriel Fauré, Lettres intimes, présentées par Philippe Fauré-Fremiet, Paris, Bernard Grasset, 1951, p. 167.

※2 Ibid.

E minor, 4/4 time. The piece is structured by consistently employing the opening rhythmic motif, a technique shared with Nocturne No. 9. The opening theme (measures 1-8) briefly returns from measure 30 with a melodic line an octave higher, but does not reappear thereafter. In this respect, it differs from the structure of No. 9, where the opening theme frequently recurs (from measure 11, from measure 34), and simultaneously makes the musical form difficult to grasp. However, in this No. 10, the focus might be placed more on the variations created by the succession of similar motifs rather than on the form itself.

For instance, Fauré's pupil, Charles Koechlin, commented on this work, stating, “Nocturne No. 10 begins with very simple, unmoving phrases, and at first glance appears to be ‘nothing at all’.” (※1) However, he also noted that the phrases composed of the bass, soprano, and inner voices in sixteenth notes are indispensable for the climax presented at the fortissimo (measures 58-61). Koechlin's comment suggests that, precisely because the same rhythmic motif is repeated, the work demands attention to dynamic changes.

In this piece, where tempo and dynamics are varied through the alternation of piano (p) and forte (f), a particularly striking moment is built from measure 50, where the key signature changes to E major. From piano (p) to fortissimo (ff) at measure 58, the volume rapidly increases with a chromatic ascending figure, creating a dramatic highlight within the piece.

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※1  Charles Kœchlin,  Gabriel Fauré , Paris, Félix Alcan, 1927, p. 101.