A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night.

History

The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''

nocturne 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 ensembl ...

'' '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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

'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. 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 A character piece is a musical composition which is expressive of a specific mood or non-musical idea. History The term "character piece" was coined by Marin Marais in the ''avertissement'' to his fifth book of viola da gamba music published in 1 ...

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, generally viewed as the father of the Romantic nocturne that characteristically features a

cantabile In music, ''cantabile'' , an Italian word, means literally "singable" or "songlike". In instrumental music, it is a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice. For 18th-century composers, ''cantabile'' is often synonymous wit ...

melody over an

arpeggiated A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

, even guitar-like accompaniment. However, the most famous exponent of the form was Frédéric Chopin, who wrote 21 of them. One of the most famous pieces of 19th-century salon music was the "Fifth Nocturne" of Ignace Leybach, who is now otherwise mostly forgotten. Later composers to write nocturnes for the piano include Gabriel Fauré, Alexander Scriabin, Erik Satie (1919), Francis Poulenc (1929), as well as Peter Sculthorpe. In the movement entitled 'The Night's Music' ('Musiques nocturnes' in French) of '' Out of Doors'' for solo piano (1926), Béla Bartók 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 Lowell Liebermann (born February 22, 1961 in New York City) is an American composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1. He studied at the Juilliard ...

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 Michael Glenn Williams (born October 23, 1957 in Lancaster, California) is an American composer, pianist and technologist. Biography Williams' earliest years were spent in New York City, beginning trumpet studies and composing at 8 years old. ...

, Samuel Barber and

Robert Helps Robert Eugene Helps (b. Passaic, New Jersey, United States, September 23, 1928; d. Tampa, Florida, United States, November 24, 2001) was an American pianist and composer. Career Helps studied at the universities of Columbia (1947–49) and B ...

. Other examples of nocturnes include the one for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

from Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1848), the set of three for orchestra and female

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

by Claude Debussy (who also wrote one for solo piano) and the first movement of the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1948) by Dmitri Shostakovich. 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 Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

wrote a Nocturne for tenor, seven obbligato instruments and strings, and the third movement of his

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings The ''Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings'', Op. 31, is a song cycle written in 1943 by Benjamin Britten for tenor, solo horn and a string orchestra. Composed during the Second World War at the request of the horn player Dennis Brain, it is a ...

(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's '' Nocturne and Tarantella'' (1915) and

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born Leon Dudley Sorabji; 14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer whose music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to wor ...

's ''Symphonic Nocturne for Piano Alone'' (1977–78).

Principal composers of nocturnes

* Charles-Valentin Alkan: five for solo piano * Anton Stepanovich Arensky: 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 ...

: his nocturne, a lyrical piece in

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

genre and a song performed by Muslim Magomayev, is one of his most popular works * Samuel Barber: 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 William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album '' The Disintegra ...

: Nocturnes *

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

: Nocturnes, for soprano and orchestra (1911) *

Jackson Berkey Jackson Berkey (born May 24, 1942) is an American composer, pianist and singer, best known for his work with Mannheim Steamroller, which he co-founded with Chip Davis in 1974. Early life and education Berkey was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania ...

: 24 Nocturnes for solo piano and Four Nocturnes for Orchestra * Georges Bizet: ''Premier nocturne en fa majeur'' Op. 2 and Nocturne in D major. * Alexander Borodin: 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) *

: 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 * Frédéric Chopin: 21 for solo piano *

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...

: 17 for solo piano * Claude Debussy: 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 Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Life Dello Joio was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his music ...

: Two Nocturnes, for piano (E major, F major, 1946) * Antonin Dvořák: Nocturne in B for string orchestra (1883) * Roger Evernden: 10 Nocturnes for solo piano (2019) * Gabriel Fauré: 13 for solo piano * John Field: originator of the piano nocturne, wrote 18 of them *

Irving Fine Irving Gifford Fine (December 3, 1914 – August 23, 1962) was an American composer. Fine's work assimilated neoclassical, romantic, and serial elements. Composer Virgil Thomson described Fine's "unusual melodic grace" while Aaron Copland noted ...

: Notturno, for strings and harp (1950–51) * Mikhail Glinka: 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 ca ...

: four for piano solo, "Pensée poétique" (1852–53), "Solitude" (1856), "Murmures Eoliens" (1860), "La chute des feuilles" (1860) *

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

: the fourth piece of his Lyric Pieces, Op 54 is a nocturne *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

: Nocturne for orchestra (1936, partly based on music from ballet ''Sémiramis'') *

Vasily Kalinnikov Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (russian: Васи́лий Серге́евич Кали́нников; 13 January 1866 – 11 January 1901 ) was a Russian composer. His body of work consists of two symphonies, several additional orchestral wor ...

: Nocturne in F minor, for piano (1894) * Jan Kalivoda: Six Nocturnes for Viola and Piano, op. 186 * Friedrich Kalkbrenner: 4 nocturnes for solo piano * Kevin Keller: 10 nocturnes for piano and treatments * Ignace Leybach: now known only for his Fifth Nocturne *

: 11 for solo piano and Nocturne for Orchestra * Franz Liszt: one for solo piano entitled ''En reve'' ("In a dream" or "While dreaming"), plus his collection of three

Liebesträume ' (German for ''Dreams of Love'') is a set of three solo piano works (S.541/R.211) by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Originally the three ' were conceived as lieder after poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In 1850, two versions ap ...

(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 Donald James Martino (May 16, 1931 – December 8, 2005) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer. Biography Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Martino attended Plainfield High School. He began as a clarinetist, playing jazz for fun and ...

: Notturno, for six instrumentalists (1973, winner of the 1974

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...

) * Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy wrote the incidental music, for

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play, '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' * Johann Kaspar Mertz: 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 Sir Andrzej Panufnik (24 September 1914 – 27 October 1991) was a Poles, Polish composer and conductor. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw ...

: Nocturne for orchestra (1947, rev. 1955) * Francis Poulenc: eight for solo piano (1929) * Sergei Rachmaninoff: three for solo piano (1887–1888) and one Op. 10 No. 1 from ''Morceaux de Salon'' (1894) * Ottorino Respighi: one piano nocturne as part of his Six Piano Pieces R.44 (1904) * Erik Satie: five for solo piano (1919) *

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

: Nocturne, on her album Allégresse (2000) *

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

(Clara Josephine Wieck): Nocturne in F major Op.6 No.2 from ''Soirées Musicales'' (1819–1896) * Robert Schumann: 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 ...

'' * Alexander Scriabin: four nocturnes, including one written for the left hand only (opus 9, 1894) *

: over 30 for solo piano * Maria Agata Szymanowska: 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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

: 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: ''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: 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: One on his debut EP ''End Credits'' * Maxence Cyrin: ten on his 2014 album ''Nocturnes (Solo Piano)'' *

Earle Hagen Earle Harry Hagen (July 9, 1919 – May 26, 2008) was an American composer who created music for movies and television. His best-known TV themes include those for ''Make Room for Daddy'', ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''I Spy'', ''That Girl'' and ...

(and

Dick Rogers Dick Rogers (1912—1970) was a singer, comedian, songwriter and pianist, who wrote the lyrics for " Harlem Nocturne". He was a member of the Ray Noble orchestra and the Will Osborne band. Rogers was associated with Will Osborne, a "star cr ...

Harlem Nocturne "Harlem Nocturne" is a jazz standard written by Earle Hagen (music) and Dick Rogers (lyrics) in 1939 for the Ray Noble orchestra, of which they were members. The song was chosen by the big-band leader Randy Brooks the next year as his theme song. ...

(1939) * Joe Jackson: One on his 1987 album ''

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

'', four on his 1994 album '' Night Music'' * Billy Joel: One on his 1971 album '' Cold Spring Harbor'' *

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

: One on his 1987 album '' Sentimental Hygiene'' *

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

: One on her 2005 album '' Aerial'', Side ''Sky of Honey'' * Wild Nothing: ''

Nocturne 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 ensembl ...

'' (2012) *

Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract is the four-dimensional analogue of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of e ...

: One on their 2013 album '' Altered State'' *

Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...

: One on his 2005 album '' November's Chopin'' *

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

: '' Nocturne: The Piano Album'' (2019) * Daniel Liam Glyn: Electronic / Ambient concept album '' Nocturnes'' (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