Nocturnes, Op. 48 (Chopin)

The Nocturnes, Op. 48 are a set of two nocturnes for solo piano written by Frédéric Chopin in 1841^[1] and published the following year in 1842. They are dedicated to Mlle. Laure Duperré. Chopin later sold the copyright for the nocturnes for 2,000 francs along with several other pieces.^[2]

Title page to Nocturne Op. 48

Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1

Opening bars from Op. 48 No. 1.

The Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 is initially marked lento and is in ⁴
₄ meter. In general, the scheme of the music is ternary form and follows the structure A–B–A′.^[3]

The piece becomes poco più lento at measure 25 and enters its middle section, which is a chorale in C major. Later, it moves to a technically demanding doppio movimento agitato at measure 49 which features fortissimo octave passages and double octave arpeggios. Finally, the piece ends with a reprise of the initial melody with extremely fast chordal accompaniment.^[4] The piece is a total of 77 measures long.

The Nocturne in C minor is one of the more well known nocturnes, and has been categorized as one of Chopin's greatest emotional achievements.^[5][6] Theodor Kullak said of the piece, "the design and poetic contents of this nocturne make it the most important one that Chopin created; the chief subject is a masterly expression of a great powerful grief."^[6] Jan Kleczyński Sr. calls the nocturne "broad and most imposing with its powerful intermediate movement, a thorough departure from the nocturne style."^[7] Some musical critics, including Charles Willeby and Frederick Niecks, do not think the piece deserves its fame and position; though James Huneker agrees with this assessment, he notes that the nocturne is still "the noblest nocturne of them all."^[8] James Friskin found the music to have "the most imposing instrumental effect of any of the nocturnes," calling the crescendo and octaves "almost Lisztian."^[9]

Jim Samson notes that the nocturne intensifies "not through ornamentation, but through a new textural background."^[10] Kleczyński commented that the middle section "is the tale of a still greater grief told in an agitated recitando; celestial harps come to bring one ray of hope, which is powerless in its endeavor to calm the wounded soul, which...sends forth to heaven a cry of deepest anguish."^[7] The ending, according to Samson, is "in the nature of an elaborated 'feminine ending', articulating the reactive final beat of an amphibrach grouping."^[10]

Nocturne in F-sharp minor, Op. 48, No. 2

Opening bars from Op. 48 No. 2.

The Nocturne in F-sharp minor, Op 48, No. 2 is initially marked andantino and is in ⁴
₄ meter. It switches to più lento at measure 57 and returns to the original tempo at measure 101. The piece is a total of 137 measures long.

When compared with the more melancholy outer themes, the middle section, più lento, is completely different—the piece modulates from minor to major (D♭), changes its meter to ³
₄ and decreases tempo. Frederick Niecks commented that the middle section "is finer" and contains "soothing, simple chord progressions."^[11] Chopin once noted that the middle section was like a recitative and should be played as if "a tyrant commands, and the other asks for mercy."^[5] The recapitulation is cut short by the coda, which ends with trills, a rising arpeggio and final chord in F♯ major.^[12]