Of the several types of character pieces Chopin favored, the nocturne was perhaps best suited the composer’s Romantic tendencies. Chopin cultivated this musical form throughout his career, though he did not invent the form.
Nocturnes by the Irish pianist-composer John Field already had gained popularity during the early part of the 19th century. But Chopin brought to the music an unprecedented sense of drama and emotional depth.
Chopin brought forth most of his nocturnes in groups of two or three pieces. The pair that comprises his Opus 27 dates from 1835. The second of these works, in D-flat major, provides a good example of Chopin’s conception of the this music. It features a gentle, song- like melody that unfolds over an accompaniment whose steady rhythmic pulse runs unbroken from the first moments to the last.
Here is Evgeny Kissin to play this for you…
