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)