Chopin Nocturnes 萧邦夜曲

Frédéric Chopin wrote 21 nocturnes for solo piano 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. Although Chopin did not invent the nocturne, he popularized and expanded on it, building on the form developed by Irish composer John Field.

Chopin's nocturnes numbered 1 to 18 were published during his lifetime, in twos or threes, in the order of composition. However, numbers 19 and 20 were actually written first, prior to Chopin's departure from Poland, but published posthumously. Number 21 was not originally entitled "nocturne" at all, but since its publication in 1938 as such, it is generally included with publications and recordings of the set.

By the time of Chopin's birth in 1810, John Field was already an accomplished composer. Eventually, the young Chopin became a great admirer of Field, taking some influence from the Irish composer's playing and composing technique. Chopin had composed five of his nocturnes before meeting Field for the first time.

于1827至1846年间，萧邦共创作了21首夜曲，皆为短篇的钢琴独奏曲。它们普遍被认为是最优美的短篇器乐独奏之一，而萧邦亦被认为是将夜曲发扬光大的重要作曲家。

第1至18首夜曲在萧邦在生时发表，它们均是以两首或三首为一组，并依随创作的时序。虽然第19和20首夜曲是萧邦离开波兰前的作品，它们在萧邦逝世后才发表。而萧邦创作第21首夜曲时没有将此曲题为“夜曲”，但它自1870年发表后便被纳入众多夜曲之一。有时被称为Nocturne oublié的第22首夜曲则可能是伪作。

菲尔德便是夜曲的创始人，在当时亦是颇具名气的作曲家。萧邦自幼十分崇拜菲尔德，并受其演奏及创作技巧所影响。 人们觉得萧邦初时的作品很像菲尔德，而讽刺的是，萧邦成名后人们反而认为菲尔德的作品像萧邦[4]。此外，虽然萧邦给与菲尔德的作品很高的评价，但菲尔德却不太欣赏萧邦的作品。尽管如此，萧邦一生中仍十分崇拜菲尔德。

萧邦承接了菲尔德的夜曲风格，当中一个十分重要的特征就是右手部分如歌似的旋律，这种声乐的特质给予乐曲情感深度。而在左手部分对分解和弦的运用也是夜曲另一个要素，为右手旋律提供节奏；而经常运用踏板有利表达乐曲的情感，造就戏剧般的氛围。

另一方面，萧邦的夜曲有很多独特之处，如在节奏的运用上更为自由。此外他自奏鸣曲式和义大利、法国歌剧的咏叹调中获取灵感，以发展乐曲结构。李斯特相信他的夜曲受到贝里尼采用美声唱法的作品影响，而这说法亦多被后世所接纳。在这些作品中也可看到对位法的使用以增加乐曲的张力及戏剧性，以及来自古典主义音乐的影响。