A nocturne (from the French nocturne — “nightly”) is a small lyrical piece that conveys the mood of a quiet night: dreaminess, calm, tender longing, or mystery. It is usually a singing melody in the right hand over a smooth, “rocking” accompaniment in the left.
The genre was begun by the Irish composer John Field, but the nocturne reached true perfection and fame in the work of Frédéric Chopin — his 21 nocturnes belong to the summits of piano lyricism of all time. Nocturnes were also written by Liszt, Debussy (orchestral), and many others. It is the quintessence of the Romantic worldview — an intimate musical confession alone with the silence of night, where every note breathes feeling.
