Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sight-read Chopin's Nocturnes (8 Feb 2011)

No words can describe how beautifully Chopin’s nocturnes were written. Anyone who love music from the Romantic Period, cant miss playing the works composed by Frederic Chopin.

“Chopin’s nocturnes use a song-like melody in the right hand. The use of the melody as vocals bestowed a greater emotional depth to the piece. Along with the right-hand melody, Chopin continued the use of another nocturne “necessity,” that of playing broken chords on the left hand to act as the rhythm under his right-handed “vocal” melody. Chopin had more extensive use of the pedal. By using the pedal more, the music gains more emotional expression through sustained notes.

One of the greatest innovations made by Chopin was his use of a more freely flowing rhythm. He also further developed the structure of the nocturne, taking inspiration from the Italian and French opera arias, as well as the sonata form. A further innovation of Chopin’s was his use of counterpoint to create tension in the nocturnes. It was mainly through these themes of operatic influence, freer rhythms, and an expansion into more complex structures and melodic playing that Chopin made his mark on the nocturne.

While meters and keys vary, the nocturnes are generally set in ternary form (A-B-A), featuring a melancholy mood, and a clear melody floating over a left-hand accompaniment of arpeggios or broken chords. Repetitions of the main theme generally add increasingly ornate embellishments.” (cited, modified, from Wikipedia)


No comments:

Post a Comment