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发表于 2015-2-28 05:23:44
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Art Analysis of Nocturne in C-sharp Minor
Frederic Chopin’s 21 nocturnes are considered some of the most enigmatic piano pieces of the Romantic era of music; the soft dynamics and lyrical melodies fuse to produce a beautiful, yet sinister sound. This quality, seen in Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, helps to create a poignant and mysterious mood for the listener. His manipulation of the chord tension through major and minor chord progressions help to create an elegiac mood throughout the piece.
By definition, nocturnes are a night piece; Chopin, a master of such compositions, sets the mood by beginning on the first inversion of the tonic the C-sharp minor chord. The introduction is peaceful and patient shifting from minor chords to a C diminished chord that resolves into the dominant. Chopin does this to give a preview of the mood of the piece; by listening to the introduction, one would immediately know that this is an elegiac piece. The harmonic tension created by the diminished chords is quickly resolved into a major chord, as if Chopin is hinting at something, and then retreating as not to “spill the beans.” At the end of this brief introduction, there is a brief pause which “cleanses the palate,” aAnd ushers in the first theme. The melody is viscous and restrained because Chopin uses a single melody note anchored by a legato C-sharp minor arpeggio as the harmony to slowly ration out the emotion that is bottled up in the piece. The sad emotion of the minor key is well matched with the beauty of the piece created by the delicate and fragile melody and its brittle harmony. When Chopin pairs the triplets with the duplets and uses trills, he opens up the pace o the song and allows the momentum to be dictated by these nuances. This rubato and descending and ascending chromatic passages act as the rising action in this elegy.
The development begins when Chopin shifts the key to E major, the relative major of C-sharp minor, which effectively releases the harmonic tension and lifts the melancholic mood of the exposition. In addition to the color change, the rhythm and momentum levels out to a constant pace as a result of the shift from the long drawn notes to moving eighth notes. The change of pace helps keep the listener interested as Chopin brings fresh ideas to the table. Although much of the enigmatic qualities of the slow and minor tone are lost as the piece shifts to a major key, the single melody-single harmony retains much of the original theme’s restraint but is also fluid at the same time. However, Chopin does not indulge in this and returns to the original minor key to create harmonic tension of chord progressions; the similarities between the major sequence and the minor sequence help to preserve the sense of familiarity in the listener’s ears while still giving him or her a sense of surprise created by the new melodic pattern. Because Chopin uses a major melody that is repeated in a minor tone, the listener is able to feel assured that Chopin isn’t to rush and run away with the melody, but rather slowly and patiently chip away at it; the minor imitation of the major melody creates a sense of adrenaline in the listener, as if something significant is coming. This is a nice transition and helps to mask some of the tension created by the diminished trills and chords; again he parallels the minor melodies with the major ones as if he is carving and creating the audience’s tolerance for the inherent harmonic tension of the minor and diminished tones.
The integration of the minor and major harmonic structures helps to link the listener from the first part of the development into new ground; it gives the listener a sense of location in this evolution of the melody. Following this, Chopin begins to open the floodgates release a rich melody. He uses the lower register as the bass to create the melody; he creates a unique sound which is in a way like caramel – rich and melting as the notes are amalgamated into chords. Chopin uses a major tonal quality because although this is an elegiac piece, he does not want it to become a demonic rant and spoil the brittle and enigmatic qualities of the pieces. Instead, it should be portrayed as a rapture of melodic tones; he is releasing all the pent-up energy and emotion that had been bottled up throughout the beginning of the piece. This is portrayed as somewhat of a climactic moment – a day against the stillness of the night. In this section, the volume is forte which helps to dissipate the sinister sensation of the previous section; the major key brings out the brightness in sound of the lower register and in a way brings brightness or optimis m to the audience. Again, however, Chopin does not dwell on this idea too long, as the chords allow for a rubato to bring the section to a tapering end. In a sense, the ending fades away like the sun in the western sky.
Frederic Chopin was master of controlling emotion with tonal manipulation as witnessed in Nocturne in C-sharp Minor. His piece is characterized by its sad and poignant melody that is elegiac. Interestingly enough, this emotion describes Chopin’s life, as he lives only to be 37 years of and suffered through illness and frailty his entire life; in addition, he lived in a time of social and political unrest in his home country of Poland. Subsequently, the piece was not published until after his death.
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