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

Chopin was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1810, and died in 1849. He is most famous for his piano works. This piece is a Nocturne, and it is written just for piano, and we know that by the Romantic period pieces were being written just for single instruments.

This piece is in C minor, with the addition of accidentals which I think have been used for effect. In bar 9, the tonality to changes, and goes major. This section does not last very long, and quickly returns to the minor key. In bar 21, the tonality is unsure as the melody line is a chromatic scale with lots of accidentals. 

The melody moves mostly in small intervals, and starts right at the beginning of the piece. There are sections with some large intervals used to create drama and tension in various places, but it is mainly made up of small intervals. Pedal is used throughout the whole extract, and is also legato throughout. None of the phrases are balanced or symmetrical, and it is hard to recognise where the phrases start and end. In bars 3 and 4, the intervals are very similar within the right hand section. Bars 5 to 8 are very similar to the start of the piece, but are slightly different. The note values vary from semibreves to crotchets to semiquavers, and this adds a sense of excitement to the piece.

The left hand accompaniment plays chords throughout throughout the piece which maintains a sense of key/tonality. Its chords are mainly based around octaves, and it keeps the beat with a stable crotchet pattern. The steady pattern helps the listener to recognise the time signature as the 4/4 beat is not clear within the melody line. 

The length of the notes get longer as we go through the piece, which causes the rhythm to increase speed. This development improves the level of interest in the piece.