Nocturne in B-flat minor (Chopin)

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Nocturne in B-flat minor op.9 no.1 was written by Frédéric Chopin in 1830-31.

This nocturne has a rhythmic freedom that came to characterise Chopin’s later work. The left hand has an unbroken sequence of quavers in simple arpeggios throughout the entire piece, while the right hand moves with freedom in patterns of eleven, twenty, and twenty-two notes. The lightness of the opening section moves into a sterner middle section, which flows back to the opening material in a transitional passage where the melody floats above seventeen consecutive bars of D-flat major chords. The reprise of the first section grows out of this and the nocturne concludes peacefully.