The Nocturnes, Op. 27 are two solo piano pieces 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"....

 often regarded as two of the best pieces he ever composed. The piece was composed in 1836 and published in 1837. Both nocturnes in this opus

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

 are dedicated to Countess d'Appony.

This publication marked the transition from triplets of nocturnes to contrasting pairs.

Gustav Barth commented that Chopin's nocturnes are definite signs of "progress" in comparison to John Field

John Field (composer)

John Field was an Irish pianist, composer, and teacher. He was born in Dublin into a musical family, and received his early education there. The Fields soon moved to London, where Field studied under Muzio Clementi...

's original nocturnes, though the improvements are "for the most part only in technique." However, David Dubal

David Dubal

David Dubal is an American pianist, teacher, author, broadcaster and painter.Dubal has taught at the Juilliard School in New York since 1983 and the Manhattan School of Music since 1994. Mr. Dubal is the host of "The Piano Matters" a program of comparative piano performances that can be heard on ...

 feels that the pieces are "more aptly described as ballades in miniature."
Blair Johnson states that these two nocturnes are "two of the most powerful—and famous—nocturnes [Chopin] has ever penned" and that these nocturnes are "virtually unrecognizable" to those of John Field.

Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1

The Nocturne in C-sharp minor is initially marked larghetto and is in 4/4 meter

Meter (music)

Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...

. It transitions to più mosso (more movement) in measure 29. The piece returns to its original tempo in measure 84, and ends in an adagio

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

beginning in measure 99. The piece is 101 measures long and written in ternary form

Ternary form

Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...

 with coda

Coda (music)

Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...

; the primary theme is introduced, followed by a secondary theme and a repetition of the first.

The opening alternates between major and minor

Major and minor

In Western music, the adjectives major and minor can describe a musical composition, movement, section, scale, key, chord, or interval.Major and minor are frequently referred to in the titles of classical compositions, especially in reference to the key of a piece.-Intervals and chords:With regard...

 and uses arpeggios, commonly found in other nocturnes as well, in the left-hand. It sounds "morbid and intentionally grating" and the effect is superior to that of any other nocturne. James Friskin noted that the piece requires an "unusually wide extension of the left hand" in the beginning and called the piece "fine and tragic." James Huneker

James Huneker

James Gibbons Huneker was an American music writer and critic.Huneker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano in Europe under Leopold Doutreleau and audited the Paris piano class of Frédéric Chopin's pupil Georges Mathias. He came to New York City in 1885 and remained there...

 commented that the piece is "a masterpiece," pointing to the "morbid, persistent melody" of the left hand. For David Dubal, the più mosso has a "restless, vehement power." Huneker also likens the più mosso to a work by Beethoven due to the agitated nature of this section. The coda "reminds the listener of Chopin's seemingly inexhaustible prodigality" according to Dubal while Huneker calls it a "surprising climax followed by sunshine" before returning to the opening theme.

Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2

The Nocturne in D-flat major is initially marked as lento sostenuto

Sostenuto

In music, sostenuto is a term from Italian which means "sustained." It occasionally implies a slowing of tempo, though more often it refers to a very legato style in which the notes are performed in a sustained manner beyond their normal values....

and is in 6/8 meter. It consists of two strophes, repeated in increasingly complex variations

Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...

. The piece is 77 measures long.
Unlike the Nocturne in C-sharp minor, which was made up of conflicting dramas, the Nocturne in D-flat major consists of variations on a single mood. This causes "functional ambivalence" through "melodic implication" according to Jim Samson. The piece is initially unchanging but is interrupted by a change to the minor subdominant

Subdominant

In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...

. Blair Johnson calls the main cadence

Cadence (music)

In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...

 "one of the most glorious moments in Chopin's entire output". Johnson also calls the piece "one of [Chopin's] most graceful essays in fioritura

Fioritura

"Fioritura" is the name given to the flowery, embellished vocal line found in many arias from nineteenth-century opera. It is derived from the Italian fiore, meaning "flower".- External links :*...

 ornamental practices." Huneker states that the piece "really contains but one subject, and is a song of the sweet summer of two souls, for there is obviously meaning in the duality of voices." He also claims that the piece is "harmonically most interesting." Friskin states that the piece contains "broken rhythms and slurs which require a delicate hand touch."

The piece occasionally has been featured in popular culture, such as in the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 movie, The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me (film)

The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...

.