Nocturne in E flat major Op. 55 No.

2
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin

Chopin
Fryderyk Chopin was a Polish pianist and composer from the Romantic period. He was born
near Warsaw in 1810, and developed astonishing talents at an early age in piano playing
and improvisation. These skills were encouraged through his study of Bach and the
Viennese Classics with Wojciech Zwyny, and of harmony and composition with Jozef Elsner
at the High School of Music (attached to the Warsaw Conservatory). He gave his first public
concert at the age of eight, and had a composition published when he was 15. Soon after
this, he began a series of concert tours, for which he wrote and performed some of his more
conspicuously virtuosic works for piano and orchestra, such as the two concertos and
Krakowiak. He left Warsaw in 1830 (shortly before the uprising that would create years of
political turmoil in his homeland), and, after a brief period in Vienna, settled in Paris.
The musical fashion in Paris in the 1830s was dominated by virtuosity and spectacle, with
pianistic displays from virtuosi such as Liszt, Thalberg and Herz being immensely popular.
Chopin grew dissatisfied with the expectations placed upon performers by audiences
interested only in technical exhibition, and virtually renounced his concert career. Instead,
he played in the salons of wealthy aristocrats, and gave piano lessons; his compositional
style consequently became more intimate, while remaining technically demanding.

In 1836 he met George Sand (a French novelist who took on a male pseudonym after leav-
ing her husband, Baron Dudevant); they lived together from 1838 to 1847, including a stay
at Majorca, where bad weather exacerbated Chopin’s fragile constitution. He suffered from
poor health throughout his life, and died of tuberculosis in Paris in 1849, at the age of 39.

Chopin composed at the piano, and in many cases his pieces would have been conceived
as improvisations, and only written down later. A large proportion of his compositions are
small-scale works such as mazurkas or nocturnes. He was a friend of the Italian opera
composer Bellini, whose flowing melodies he admired and often emulated in his own pieces.
Chopin explored new ways of more fully realising the potential of the piano, in particular
making use of the sustaining pedal and the wider range (over six octaves) available on 19th
Century instruments. His melodies demand a smooth, cantabile tone, and his harmonies
are rich and colourful, often exploring unusual key relationships. All of his compositions
involve the piano; he wrote no purely symphonic music.

Chopin’s compositions
Chopin’s compositions for piano solo include:
• three sonatas.
• four ballades.
• four scherzi.
• four impromptus.
• 27 etudes.
• around 60 mazurkas.
• 21 nocturnes.
• more than a dozen polonaises.
• 26 preludes.
• 19 waltzes
• Barcarolle, Berceuse, and Fantasie.

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His other works include:
• two piano concertos.
• a piano trio.
• a sonata for cello and piano.
• around 20 songs.

Chopin’s contemporaries
• John Field (Irish, 1782-1837).
• Niccolò Paganini (Italian, 1782-1840).
• Gaetano Donizetti (Italian, 1797-1848).
• Franz Schubert (Austrian, 1797-1828).
• Vincenzo Bellini (Italian, 1801-1835).
• Hector Berlioz (French, 1803-1869).
• Mikhail Glinka (Russian, 1804-1857).
• Felix Mendelssohn (German, 1809-1847).
• Robert Schumann (German, 1810-1856).
• Franz Liszt (Hungarian, 1811-1886).
• Charles-Valentin Alkan (French, 1813-1888).
• Stephen Heller (Hungarian/French, 1813-1888).
• Giuseppe Verdi (Italian, 1813-1901).

Chopin’s compositional style

Music from the Romantic period (c.1810-c.1900) is usually passionate and expressive.
Stylistic characteristics of Chopin’s compositions include:
• widely contrasting moods (ranging from intimate to fiery).
• lyrical melodies, in long, flowing phrases, to be played in a cantabile manner.
• rich harmonies, with some chromaticism and expressive dissonance.
• wide-ranging modulations, sometimes by 3rds rather than the more traditional 5th.
• widely-spaced [broken] chordal textures, requiring extensive use of the sustaining pedal.
• use of national dance styles such as Polonaise and Mazurka.
• expressive variations of tempo, sometimes notated by the composer, but also including
tempo rubato at the performer’s discretion.

Chopin’s Nocturnes
A nocturne, or night piece, is a short, lyrical piece, usually for piano, that evokes the qualities
of the night. The term was first used by the Irish composer John Field, and later by Chopin
and Fauré. Chopin composed at least 21 nocturnes. They generally have long, flowing mel-
odies and gentle broken chord accompaniments. Some have a contrasting middle section.

Op. (Opus) means a work or group of works. Not all of Chopin’s works have opus numbers.
The CT number refers to the catalogue of Chopin’s works by Chomiński and Turło.

Further reading
Michalowski, Kornel and Samson, Jim. “Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek” in The new Grove dictionary of music and
musicians, 2nd edition, Vol. 5, pp. 706-736. London: Macmillan, 2001.
Samson, Jim. The music of Chopin. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Chopin. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

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Prepared for Gerard D'Souza. Order: 60550
Nocturne in E flat major Op. 55 No. 2
The two Nocturnes of Op. 55 were composed in 1843. As with the Berceuse and Barcarolle,
and the final Sonata, Ballade and Scherzo, they are among Chopin’s later works. They were
published in 1844, and were dedicated to Jane Stirling, a pupil of Chopin’s who would
become a trusted friend and personal assistant in the final years of his life.

The Nocturne in E flat major contains a number of unusual aspects, when compared with
Chopin’s earlier nocturnes. It contains two main themes, with a very brief central episode,
in an ABCAB structure, which only loosely resembles the traditional ternary form of most
nocturnes. There are no strongly contrasted passages, and all sections end in the tonic key,
although there is a high degree of chromaticism and some modulation within each section.

The melodies, as would be expected for a nocturne, are in long, lyrical phrases, like those of
the Italian opera composer Bellini. They are almost always embellished when they reappear
throughout the piece. Less typical of the Romantic style is the extensive use of counter-
point, with three distinct melodic lines (soprano, alto and bass) throughout most of the piece.
Each line serves a distinct function, with the main melodic line always in the upper voice.
The lower voice incorporates a bass line and an interesting accompanying figure. The inner
voice shares moments of equal beauty with the top voice, but occurs less consistently.
Chordal texture is used only at the end of the coda.

A b.1-4 First theme, Ef major, beginning with an unharmonised dominant note. The broken
chord accompaniment enters midway through b.1, and the key is established by a
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V -I progression, decorated with a trill, in b.1-2.
The lower voice moves in a quasi-sequential manner in b.1-3. Secondary dominant
harmony bring passing suggestions of C minor (end of b.2) and Bf major (end of b.3),
but there is no modulation. The lowest bass notes rise by semitones to the dominant
from the 2nd half of b.2 to the start of b.4 (G-Af-An-Bf), and the key of Ef major is
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reconfirmed by another V -I progression in b.4.
The melody in the upper voice is languid and lyrical, mostly using longer note values,
with anacrusic quavers used for additional momentum in the approach to the cadence.
The longer notes sometimes move by leaps of up to a 6th, but the shorter notes
mostly move by step.
4-8 The first theme continues, now with a second melodic line present (in the alto voice)
in counterpoint. The alto melody contains a number of suspensions (e.g. Bf on the
1st beat of b.5, Af on the 4th beat of b.5, etc.), as well as other unessential notes
(e.g. start of b.6), which create expressive dissonance.
This passage is mostly in minor keys, beginning in F minor (end of b.4) and moving by
5ths via C minor (end of b.5) to G minor. A half-diminished 7th chord at the end of b.6
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(C-Ef-Gf-Bf) leads to a V -i cadence in b.7-8. The rhythm becomes more ornate in
the approach to the cadence, and the use of polyrhythms ensures that all three
melodic lines remain rhythmically independent.
Unessential notes continue to be used for colour, and to create then release harmonic
tension. At the start of b.8, for example, the chord notes G, Bf and D are approached
by the neighbour notes Fs, Bn and Cs or Ef.
The key of Ef major returns at the end of b.8.
9-12 An embellished reprise of the first four bars of the first theme in Ef major, now with
an alto countermelody. The upper voice becomes slightly higher in pitch than before.
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The theme ends with a V -I cadence in b.12, and the tonic chord is decorated with a
|4-3 suspension in the alto.
B 13-16 The second theme begins with a sequence, passing through Af major (the sub-
dominant key, b.13-15) then Bf major (the dominant key, b.15-16). Chromatic
unessential notes are again used for decoration (e.g. b.13: Dn in bass, Bn in treble).
The alto countermelody is no longer present.

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17-18 Moving from Ef major to C minor, with a sustained Af in the melody, and a
chromatically-rising bass line.
19-26 The second theme continues in two voices, beginning softly and gradually increasing
in volume. The harmony is based on dominant 7th and tonic progressions, alternating
between C minor (bars 19-20 and 23-24) and G minor (bars 21-22), then returning to
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Ef major. The theme ends with a V -I cadence in b.25-26. The embellishment of the
melody in b.25 (i.e. at the cadence) is more ornate and chromatic than before.
C 27-30 Interlude, C minor (the relative minor key), beginning with a “Neapolitan 6th” chord
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(fII , F-Af-Df), then confirming the new key with a V -i progression in b.28. The
melody contains some expressive dissonance, including appoggiaturas (e.g. C on
the 3rd beat of b.27, G on the 1st beat of b.29), which resolve by step to a chord note.
The alto voice returns at the end of b.30.
31-34 The interlude continues in three voices, beginning with a sequence that returns via
G major (b.31) and F major (b.32) to Ef major (from b.33). Bars 31, 32 and 33 each
begin with a Neapolitan 6th chord, which leads, as usual, to a dominant 7th
(embellished with suspensions, etc., in the alto). The soprano melody rises by
semitones in b.34, embellished with trills, leading to the return of the opening theme.
A 35-38 The first theme returns in Ef major, similar to b.8-12, but with even more rhapsodic
embellishment.
B 39-42 The second theme returns, similar to b.13-16. The accompaniment is somewhat
altered (with increased use of unessential notes, e.g. Dn in b.39-31). The alto
countermelody briefly reappears in b.41.
43-47 Similar to b.17-18, but with a slower rate of harmonic change, beginning on the dom-
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inant 7th of Ef and ending with an embellished V -I cadence in Ef major in b.46-47.
The alto countermelody is present throughout now, beginning with sustained notes
that descend chromatically in b.43-45.
The harmony moves by 5ths in b.44-47 (with chord roots Df-Gf-C-F-Bf-Ef, although
all of the chords prior to the cadence are used in inversions), bringing passing sugg-
estions of Gf major (the Neapolitan key of F minor, b.44-45) and F minor (b.45-46).
47-55 A slightly varied repeat of b.39-47, with the Df in b.47 shortened by several beats,
and with an altered ending. The alto countermelody is now constantly present.
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The theme ends with a V -I cadence in b.54-55.
56-67 Coda, mostly in Ef major, with a tonic pedal in the bass in b.56-63. It begins briefly
and unexpectedly in Ef minor (the tonic minor key), bringing a momentary sense of
apprehension.
A “German” augmented 6th chord in b.57 (Cf-Ef-Gf-An) leads back to Ef major.
The remainder of the piece is mostly diatonic (i.e. without accidentals, apart from a
chromatic passing note, An, in b.58, and a secondary dominant 7th in b.62), which
contributes to the sense of tranquility. Chordal texture is used from b.62. The piece
ends with elongated dominant-tonic harmony in b.64-67.

Lento sostenuto means slow and sustained (i.e. unhurried, well connected and songlike).
The time signature indicates four dotted crotchet beats in a bar (compound quadruple time).
sempre legato means always smooth and connected.
A quadruplet indicates four notes that are played in the time of three. Similarly, a septuplet,
octuplet and decuplet (seven, eight or ten in the time of six).
A dot within a slur (e.g. b.7) indicates mezzo staccato (moderately short and detached).
The grace notes (acciaccature) in b.30, etc., form a written-out inverted turn.
sfp (sforzando-piano) means strongly accented, then immediately soft.
gindicates an arpeggio (i.e. the notes of the chord are to be played one after another).
rall[entando] means gradually becoming slower.

Copyright © 2016 by R. A. Hamilton

Prepared for Gerard D'Souza. Order: 60550