A nocturne is a

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night.

History

The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensemble piece in several movements, normally played for an evening party and then laid aside. Sometimes it carried the Italian equivalent, ''notturno'', such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Notturno in D, K.286, written for four lightly echoing separated ensembles of paired horns with strings, and his ''Serenata Notturna'', K. 239. At this time, the piece was not necessarily evocative of the night, but might merely be intended for performance at night, much like a

serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...

. The chief difference between the serenade and the notturno was the time of the evening at which they would typically be performed: the former around 9:00pm, the latter closer to 11:00 pm. In its form as a single-movement character piece usually written for solo piano, the nocturne was cultivated primarily in the 19th century. The first nocturnes to be written under the specific title were by the Irish composer

John Field John Field may refer to: *John Field (American football) (1886–1979), American football player and coach *John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer *John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer *John Field (dancer) (192 ...

, generally viewed as the father of the Romantic nocturne that characteristically features a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated, even guitar-like accompaniment. However, the most famous exponent of the form was

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

, who wrote 21 of them. One of the most famous pieces of 19th-century salon music was the "Fifth Nocturne" of

Ignace Leybach Ignace Xavier Joseph Leybach (17 July 1817 – 23 May 1891) was a French pianist, organist, music educator and a composer of salon piano music. Career Born in Gambsheim, Alsace, Leybach had his early training as an organist with Joseph Wackenthal ...

, who is now otherwise mostly forgotten. Later composers to write nocturnes for the piano include

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

(1919),

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

(1929), as well as

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

. In the movement entitled 'The Night's Music' ('Musiques nocturnes' in French) of '' Out of Doors'' for solo piano (1926),

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

imitated the sounds of nature. It contains quiet, eerie, blurred cluster-chords and imitations of the twittering of birds and croaking of nocturnal creatures, with lonely melodies in contrasting sections. American composer Lowell Liebermann has written eleven Nocturnes for piano, of which No.6 was arranged by the composer as Nocturne for Orchestra. Other notable nocturnes from the 20th century include those from Michael Glenn Williams,

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

and Robert Helps. Other examples of nocturnes include the one for orchestra from

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (1848), the set of three for orchestra and female choir by

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

(who also wrote one for solo piano) and the first movement of the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1948) by

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

. French composer Erik Satie composed a series of five small nocturnes. These were, however, far different from those of Field and Chopin. In 1958, Benjamin Britten wrote a Nocturne for tenor, seven obbligato instruments and strings, and the third movement of his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943) is also titled "Nocturne". Nocturnes are generally thought of as being tranquil, often expressive and lyrical, and sometimes rather gloomy, but in practice pieces with the name ''nocturne'' have conveyed a variety of moods: the second of Debussy's orchestral ''Nocturnes'', "Fêtes", for example, is very lively, as are parts of

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

's '' Nocturne and Tarantella'' (1915) and Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji's ''Symphonic Nocturne for Piano Alone'' (1977–78).

Principal composers of nocturnes

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

: five for solo piano *

Anton Stepanovich Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

: two nocturnes for piano, each part of a set: No. 1 from Six Pieces, Op. 5 (1884); No. 3 from ''Twenty-four Characteristic Pieces'', Op. 36 (1894); a nocturne for two pianos, no. 8 from Variations (Suite No. 3), Op. 33 *

Arno Babajanyan Arno Harutyunovich Babajanian ( hy, Առնո Բաբաջանյան; russian: Арно Арутюнович Бабаджанян; January 22, 1921 – November 11, 1983) was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was made a People's Artist o ...

: his nocturne, a lyrical piece in easy listening genre and a song performed by Muslim Magomayev, is one of his most popular works *

: the last of Four Songs, for voice and piano, Op. 13 (1938–40) is titled "Nocturne" (to a text by Frederic Prokosch), and this song also exists in a version with orchestra; ''Nocturne (Homage to John Field)'', for piano, Op. 33 (1959) * William Basinski: Nocturnes * Arnold Bax: Nocturnes, for soprano and orchestra (1911) * Jackson Berkey: 24 Nocturnes for solo piano and Four Nocturnes for Orchestra *

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

: ''Premier nocturne en fa majeur'' Op. 2 and Nocturne in D major. *

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

: his String Quartet No. 2 third movement ''Notturno'' contains one of his most popular melodies (1881) *

Lili Boulanger Marie Juliette "Lili" Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918) was a French composer and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Biography ...

: ''Nocturne pour violon et piano'' (1911) * Benjamin Britten: Nocturne, from ''

On This Island ''On This Island'' is a book of poems by W. H. Auden, first published under the title ''Look, Stranger!'' in the UK in 1936, then published under Auden's preferred title, ''On this Island'', in the US in 1937. It is also the title of one of the ...

'', Op. 11 *

: 21 for solo piano * Carl Czerny: 17 for solo piano *

: 3 for orchestra and choir, one for solo piano *

Norman Dello Joio Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913July 24, 2008) was an American composer active for over half a century. He won a 1957 Pulitzer Prize#Letters, Drama, Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Life Dello Joio was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to It ...

: Two Nocturnes, for piano (E major, F major, 1946) *

Antonin Dvořák Antonin may refer to: People * Antonin (name) Places ;Poland * Antonin, Jarocin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Kalisz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Oborniki County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Ostr ...

: Nocturne in B for string orchestra (1883) *

Roger Evernden Roger Evernden (born ca. 1954) is a British enterprise architect, musician, composer, writer and speaker. As an enterprise architect he is a consultant at the Cutter Consortium, known for his contributions to Enterprise Architecture and as auth ...

: 10 Nocturnes for solo piano (2019) *

: 13 for solo piano *

: originator of the piano nocturne, wrote 18 of them * Irving Fine: Notturno, for strings and harp (1950–51) *

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

: three nocturnes: E-flat major, "La Separation" in F minor, "Le Regret" (lost) *

Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside the United States. Life and car ...

: four for piano solo, "Pensée poétique" (1852–53), "Solitude" (1856), "Murmures Eoliens" (1860), "La chute des feuilles" (1860) * Edvard Grieg: the fourth piece of his Lyric Pieces, Op 54 is a nocturne * Arthur Honegger: Nocturne for orchestra (1936, partly based on music from ballet ''Sémiramis'') * Vasily Kalinnikov: Nocturne in F minor, for piano (1894) *

Jan Kalivoda Jan Křtitel Václav Kalivoda (Johann Baptist Wenzel Kalliwoda in German) (February 21, 1801 – December 3, 1866) was a composer, conductor and violinist of Bohemian birth. Life Kalivoda was born in Prague in 1801 and as early as 1811 star ...

: Six Nocturnes for Viola and Piano, op. 186 *

Friedrich Kalkbrenner Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner (2–8 November 1785 – 10 June 1849), also known as ''Frédéric Kalkbrenner'', was a pianist, composer, piano teacher and piano manufacturer. German by birth, Kalkbrenner studied at the Conservatoire de ...

: 4 nocturnes for solo piano * Kevin Keller: 10 nocturnes for piano and treatments *

: now known only for his Fifth Nocturne * Lowell Liebermann: 11 for solo piano and Nocturne for Orchestra *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

: one for solo piano entitled ''En reve'' ("In a dream" or "While dreaming"), plus his collection of three Liebesträume (Love Dreams), a series of three Notturnos, of which no.3 is the most famous, Les cloches de Genève: Nocturne (The Bells of Geneva: Nocturne) in B major * Donald Martino: Notturno, for six instrumentalists (1973, winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Music) *

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

wrote the

, for William Shakespeare's play, ''

'' *

Johann Kaspar Mertz Joseph Kaspar Mertz (in hu, Mertz János Gáspár) (17 August 1806 – 14 October 1856) was an Austro-Hungarian guitarist and composer. Biography Caspar Joseph Mertz (baptised Casparus Josephus Mertz) was born in Pressburg, now Bratislava (S ...

: 3 Nocturnes for Guitar, opus 4. *

Ernest John Moeran } Ernest John Smeed Moeran (31 December 1894 – 1 December 1950) was an English composer of part-Irish extraction, whose work was strongly influenced by English and Irish folk music of which he was an assiduous collector. His output includes or ...

: Nocturne, for baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1934, text by Robert Nichols) * Andrzej Panufnik: Nocturne for orchestra (1947, rev. 1955) *

: eight for solo piano (1929) *

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

: three for solo piano (1887–1888) and one Op. 10 No. 1 from ''Morceaux de Salon'' (1894) *

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

: one piano nocturne as part of his Six Piano Pieces R.44 (1904) *

: five for solo piano (1919) * Maria Schneider: Nocturne, on her album Allégresse (2000) * Clara Schumann (Clara Josephine Wieck): Nocturne in F major Op.6 No.2 from ''Soirées Musicales'' (1819–1896) *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: four ''

Nachtstücke The '' Nachtstücke'' or ''Night Pieces'' are a set of four character pieces for piano by the German composer and pianist Robert Schumann. Historical background The ''Nachtstücke'' (''Night Pieces''), Op. 23, were composed in 1839 together wi ...

'' *

: four nocturnes, including one written for the left hand only (opus 9, 1894) * Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: over 30 for solo piano *

Maria Agata Szymanowska Maria Szymanowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born Marianna Agata Wołowska; Warsaw, 14 December 1789 – 25 July 1831, St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She toure ...

: Nocturne in B-flat and Nocturne ''Le Murmure'' *

Alexandre Tansman Alexander Tansman ( pl, Aleksander Tansman, link=no, French: Alexandre Tansman; 12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish composer, pianist and conductor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1938. One of the earliest representatives of ...

: Four Nocturnes, for piano (1952) * Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Nocturne (No. 4 of Six Pieces, Op. 19) (1873), and Tchaikovsky's arrangement for cello with small orchestra for Anatoly Brandukov, from a transcription for Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1888) *

Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family He was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. According to his own account, h ...

: 7 nocturnes for piano (Opp. 16, 21, 28, 51 and 1 without op. number) *

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

: ''Nocturnal'', for soprano, bass, chorus, and small orchestra (text from Anaïs Nin: ''The House of Incest'', 1961), and ''Nocturnal II (Nuit)'', for soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, 1 or 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, percussion, and double bass (text from Anaïs Nin: ''The House of Incest'', 1961–65) *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

: Three Nocturnes, for baritone, semi-chorus, and orchestra (text by Walt Whitman, 1908); "nocturne", the first of ''Three Poems by Walt Whitman'' (1925)

Popular music

Eden Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...

: One on his debut EP ''End Credits'' *

Maxence Cyrin Maxence Cyrin is a French pianist and composer living in Paris. Early life As a child, Cyrin studied classical piano at a conservatory. In his teenage years, he was exposed to new-wave and techno music, greatly influencing his first recordings ...

: ten on his 2014 album ''Nocturnes (Solo Piano)'' * Earle Hagen (and Dick Rogers): Harlem Nocturne (1939) * Joe Jackson: One on his 1987 album '' Will Power'', four on his 1994 album '' Night Music'' *

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

: One on his 1971 album ''

Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

'' * Warren Zevon: One on his 1987 album ''

Sentimental Hygiene ''Sentimental Hygiene'' is the sixth studio album by rock singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and his first "sober" one. The album was released on August 29, 1987, by Virgin Records. The release of ''Sentimental Hygiene'' marked the first studio album ...

'' * Kate Bush: One on her 2005 album '' Aerial'', Side ''Sky of Honey'' *

Wild Nothing Wild Nothing is an American indie rock/dream pop band from Blacksburg, Virginia, formed in late 2009 by Jack Tatum. During live performances, Tatum is joined by additional musicians, currently Nic Hessler (guitar), Jeff Haley (bass), Joshua Sushm ...

: '' Nocturne'' (2012) * Tesseract: One on their 2013 album '' Altered State'' * Jay Chou: One on his 2005 album ''

November's Chopin ''November's Chopin'' () is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, released on 1 November 2005 by Sony Music Taiwan. The album was nominated for two Golden Melody Awards. The album won for an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award fo ...

'' * Vangelis: '' Nocturne: The Piano Album'' (2019) *

Daniel Liam Glyn Daniel Liam Glyn (born 3 October 1986) is a British music composer. He is most known for combining his music writing with his neurological condition, synaesthesia. Glyn's work has been heavily influenced by his unique way of visualising numbers, ...

: Electronic / Ambient concept album ''

Nocturnes A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensemble ...

'' (2020)

Notes

References

* Wignall, Harrison James, "Mozart and the 'Duetto Notturno' Tradition", ''Mozart-Jahrbuch'', 1993. * Wignall, Harrison James, "Duetto notturno", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', (ed. Sadie), London, MacMillan, 2000.
Mozart's Notturno in D, K.286: Chicago Symphony Orchestra program notes
{{Authority control Classical music styles

History

Principal composers of nocturnes

Popular music

See also

Notes

References