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A defining rhythm might be expected above all because in general Chopin seems to have associated each genre he employed with a particular rhythmic nature, not only when working in dance genres where a defining rhythm was a given, but even when it was not, as in the ballade or the impromptu. Otherwise, there does not seem to be a defining nocturne form or nocturne character or nocturne texture, and above all there is no defining nocturne rhythm. The nocturne has proven a particularly difficult case-and therefore a rich subject for consideration-because it is not easily defined either through internal investigation (looking for common qualities in all the Chopin nocturnes) or through external investigation (holding those works up against whatever can be considered to have been Chopin’s models).įrom internal investigation, all that has emerged as definitive is that the Chopin nocturnes are generally lyrical in style-often elaborately lyrical, but sometimes very plainly so. Of course, to say that he wrote the defining examples of the ballade or the mazurka or the nocturne is to beg the question of what they define. More surprising, perhaps, is that the characteristic rhythmic types of the Chopin nocturnes–such as the barcarole and march rhythms–also find their source in the Parisian vocal nocturne, where they are the musical embodiment of metaphors for love found in the poetic texts.Ĭhopin’s conception of musical genres attracts attention not only because he favored generic titles for his compositions, but also because in many cases he wrote what have become the defining examples of the genre. The piano nocturnes of Chopin derive their characteristic duet melodies and rapturous expression from that model. The vocal nocturne of the early nineteenth century was a Parisian specialty, a duet set to a love poem, but not a love duet-rather, a duet for two female or one female and one male singer, rapturously expressing the sentiments of the poems-usually male speaker. A way to come to terms with this ambiguity, as well as with other questions about the generic identity of the piano nocturne, is to investigate their vocal model: not the operatic model that is most often considered to have inspired the lyrical style of piano nocturnes, Chopin’s in particular, but the vocal nocturne, for which the piano nocturne (starting with Field) was named. It is easier to assert that Chopin wrote the defining examples of the piano nocturne than to say how they define it, since his nocturnes overlap so frequently with other piano genres-including the barcarole, the lullaby, and the march-especially in rhythmic nature. Poetry, Song, and the Voice in the Piano Nocturne