Daily music knowledge for music students: Little knowledge about nocturne

What is nocturne:

Nocturne generally refers to a kind of piano first created by Irish composer Field The genre of music is also a unique genre of romantic music. The melody is beautiful and full of singing, usually at slow or medium speed, and often uses arpeggiated chord accompaniment. The overall artistic conception is the tranquility of the night and the inner expression of people. Chopin's Twenty-One Nocturnes are the most outstanding representative works of this genre.

The structural characteristics of nocturnes:

The first section is often long

①Nocturnes generally have a three-section structure.

A long, dreamlike melody; the second section is emotionally charged; the third section returns to a quiet atmosphere. The nocturnes of 19th-century romantic composers are characterized by quiet, lyrical, contemplative, and melancholy styles.

②Changes in musical form. The nocturnes composed by Field have many forms, among which the three-part form is the most common. Due to the expansion of the connotation of musical expression, Chopin's nocturne creations mostly used the complex trilogy form on the basis of inheriting Field's three-part form. This formal structure that emphasizes dramatic contrast enhances the inherent performance of the nocturne genre.

Representative works of nocturnes:

①John Field's "Nocturne in B flat major" Field wrote nineteen nocturnes in his lifetime, all of which are elegant lyrical pieces. The content is sentimental and the form is simple and simple. Among his handed down works, this "Nocturne in B flat major" is the most famous. This short and exquisite piano piece is based on a two-sentence square section of 8 bars that enters in parallel, and is formed by compounding, repeating as a whole, and adding an interlude and an outro. A musical form, the overall contrasting effect is both distinct and layered.

Representative works of nocturne:

②Chopin's "Nocturne in E flat major"

This piece was composed between 1830 and 1831 in rondo form. This is Chopin's "Nocturne in E flat major". The most representative work among the nocturnes, it is also the most popular one. The whole song has three themes. This nocturne is the most widely circulated one and also the most clear one. Listening to the sincere and beautiful melody once is never enough. Chopin himself also liked playing this nocturne very much, and played it differently every time. Among the student scores circulating today, the variations of this nocturne are all different, which is enough to illustrate Chopin's outstanding improvisational ability.

Representative works of nocturne:

③Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

This piece is Mendelssohn's composition for Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" A nocturne from the score for "The Dream", an orchestral piece played between the third and fourth acts. This nocturne describes a quiet forest scene at night, using only woodwind horns and string instruments.