Chopin Nocturnes 蕭邦夜曲

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.

於1827至1846年間，蕭邦共創作了21首夜曲，皆為短篇的鋼琴獨奏曲。它們普遍被認為是最優美的短篇器樂獨奏之一，而蕭邦亦被認為是將夜曲發揚光大的重要作曲家。

第1至18首夜曲在蕭邦在生時發表，它們均是以兩首或三首為一組，並依隨創作的時序。雖然第19和20首夜曲是蕭邦離開波蘭前的作品，它們在蕭邦逝世後才發表。而蕭邦創作第21首夜曲時沒有將此曲題為「夜曲」，但它自1870年發表後便被納入眾多夜曲之一。有時被稱為Nocturne oublié的第22首夜曲則可能是偽作。

菲爾德便是夜曲的創始人，在當時亦是頗具名氣的作曲家。蕭邦自幼十分崇拜菲爾德，並受其演奏及創作技巧所影響。 人們覺得蕭邦初時的作品很像菲爾德，而諷刺的是，蕭邦成名後人們反而認為菲爾德的作品像蕭邦[4]。此外，雖然蕭邦給與菲爾德的作品很高的評價，但菲爾德卻不太欣賞蕭邦的作品。儘管如此，蕭邦一生中仍十分崇拜菲爾德。

蕭邦承接了菲爾德的夜曲風格，當中一個十分重要的特徵就是右手部分如歌似的旋律，這種聲樂的特質給予樂曲情感深度。而在左手部分對分解和弦的運用也是夜曲另一個要素，為右手旋律提供節奏；而經常運用踏板有利表達樂曲的情感，造就戲劇般的氛圍。

另一方面，蕭邦的夜曲有很多獨特之處，如在節奏的運用上更為自由。此外他自奏鳴曲式和義大利、法國歌劇的詠嘆調中獲取靈感，以發展樂曲結構。李斯特相信他的夜曲受到貝里尼採用美聲唱法的作品影響，而這說法亦多被後世所接納。在這些作品中也可看到對位法的使用以增加樂曲的張力及戲劇性，以及來自古典主義音樂的影響。