Chopin Nocturne F minor Op. 55 no. 1 - Analysis: ESCAPING FATE?

Pianist Henrik Kilhamn goes through the F minor Nocturne that is both heavy and simple. The melody is always returning to a C as if being held in the firm grip of Fate, and after a dramatic middle section the ending comes as a surprise.

0:00 Analysis
4:44 Middle section
7:28 Return
10:31 Performance

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Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne F minor, Op. 55 no. 1 (1844)

[SonataSecrets]

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[dhio]

I never really realised that the piece is all about that C note

[djsalad]

That’s always how I sorta felt while listening to this song. It’s my personal favorite nocturne and I’m so glad someone was able to put how it made me feel into words

[Dutchpilotspeakerwriter]

Thanks Henrik for your explanation. I really like the Horowitz version of Opus 55. He takes a lot, a lot of freedom in the expression of this piece. Yours is well played.

[topherhenny]

That is such a great way to describe this piece, I wasn't thinking about it today and had the same perception, it's about fate.

[LagartoChicloso]

“It is dreadful when something weighs on your mind, not to have a soul to unburden yourself to. You know what I mean. I tell my piano the things I used to tell you.”
-Frédéric Chopin

[anthonyb]

Sadness and grief with moments of hope, defiant angered resistance in the piu mosso section, relenting to the melancholy and finally descending into madness in the coda.

[amjan]

That C note in the bass is one of the most evil, sinister, ominous notes in all of music history. And I'm a death metal fan who loves Schoenberg as well.

[Ocagna]

I really like your descriptions and the illustrations you put on the sheet music. I think there very accurate! You help us enhancing our the experience of listening to a piece.

[thesound]

that part you love, i cant stop listening over and over again, i cant play it but i try changing speeds in that phrase, it's kind of falling from a mountain, sometimes rolling, sometimes floating in the air. Good job. Please explain Chopin Ballade No.1 in Gminor, it has a very painfull phrase. Thank you

[Yaimdan]

Loved learning this piece a few years ago. I've since gotten rusty but have began working on it again. Such a lovely comforting melody.

[mcoldewey]

Great analysis as always. One thing I've noticed is that at the piu mosso (m.48) the octave triplets are actually an echo of what first seems to be the "decoration" of the melody at 27 and 43. So it's not entirely new, though because of the register, the harmony and the tempo, it sounds that way. Also, the "counterpoint" section starting at 57 uses a part of this triplet figure against the descending four-note melody of the first part. Chopin transformed melodies and motives in ingenious ways. And the beauty of the last section - how he weaves the most intricate harmony and passagework into the recap of the main melody - is something that I don't think another composer could have done.

[margarethansen]

Thanks you very much, excelent video, as always! Beautiful performance!!

[chilli]

amazing analysis, my favourite Chopin piece. Always felt like there was something inquisitive about this perhaps that could tie in to the theme of being unable to escape the C note..

[caterscarrots]

I hear characters to certain keys when I am composing a piece. For me, F minor is like "The Key of Death" if you will. I hear this unrelievable, funerial sadness to it with the bass clef, even if it is just 1 octave below middle C, and the sadness of the bass clef transfers over to the treble clef notes. I can get a similarly sad feeling out of C minor, but for me at least, it requires most of the notes to be in the bass clef if I am in C minor and aiming for that level of sadness. I definitely hear that deathly melancholy in this nocturne.

[jessemccree]

Wonderful interpretation! I think the end of this piece is similar to the end of Fantasy op.49, they are both in f minor.

[Eric]

Many thanks Henrik. Great video and super playing. (AGAIN).

[BalancedEarth]

Underappreciated analysis! Love it <3

[sagenowty]

I like this nocturne a lot!! I read that the final chords are inmitating the sound of a harp. I heard a recording by Vladamir Horowitz playing this nocturne and final chords did sound like a harp being played.

[antoniavignera]

È un grande piacere seguire le Sue dettagliate spiegazioni. I miei sinceri complimenti per l’esecuzione aderente al testo.Senz’altro Chopin sarebbe stato contento.