Nocturne in E minor, Op. posth. 72, No. 1, was composed by Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....

 for solo piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 in 1827. It was the 19th nocturne

Nocturnes (Chopin)

The Chopin nocturnes constitute 21 short pieces for solo piano written by Frédéric Chopin between 1827 and 1846. They are generally considered among the finest short solo works for the instrument and hold an important place in contemporary concert repertoire...

 published, when published in 1855. The composition features an unbroken line of quaver triplets in the left hand set against a slow melody of minims, crotches, quaver duplets and triplets. It consists of 57 bars of common time with the tempo given as Andante, 69 bpm.

An informal analysis of the piece is as follows:

• Bar 1: Introduction
• Bar 2-9: Theme A, in E minor.
• Bar 10-17: Variation on theme A, beginning with octaves in the right hand.
• Bar 18-22: Interlude
• Bar 23-30: Theme B, in B major, consisting of a four bar phrase, repeated with variation.
• Bar 31-38: Heavily ornamented variation on A
• Bar 39-46: Variation on theme A, beginning with octaves in the right hand.
• Bar 47-54: Theme B, modulated to E major.
• Bar 55-57: Coda in E major.

External links

• Recording at musopen.com (incorrectly labelled as Opus 27 in C# minor)