Page 204 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

music that came into favor in the 1820s and 1830s. It suggests moonlit nights, romantic longing, and a certain wistful melancholy, all evoked through slightly chromatic melodies and softly strumming harmonies. To set a nocturnal mood, Chopin usually lays out a very regular accompaniment, either as an arpeggio going up and down, or as chords going low-middle-high, both of which give the sense of a harp or guitar strumming in the night. Above this support he places a sensuous melody that plays around and against the very square accompani- ment, as we see in his Nocturne in E♭ major (Example 11.10; see Listening Cue).
Example 11.10 > melody in chopin’s nocturne
LiSTeN TO . . . Example 11.10 online.
Once this melody is in place, Chopin repeats it and varies it twice, each vari- ation more florid than the last. Between presentations comes an interlude of rich chromatic harmony (see Example 11.2). Note in Example 11.10 how Chopin carefully specifies the use of the sustaining pedal—“Ped.” here means depress the sustaining (right) pedal; asterisk means to release it. In this way the low- est bass notes can be sustained (while the left hand moves up for the next two chords) thereby creating a richer, more sonorous sound.
Listening Cue
Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne in E♭ major, Opus 9, No. 2 (1832) Download 35
Genre: Nocturne
Form: Theme and variations
what to listen for: The exquisite performance of Polish-born pianist Arthur Rubinstein (1887–1982), universally recognized as the greatest interpreter of the music of his countryman Chopin
reAD . . . a detailed Listening Guide of this selection online. LiSTeN TO . . . this selection streaming online.
WATCH . . . an Active Listening Guide of this selection online.
182 chapter eleven romanticism and romantic chamber music
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