Nocturne

Nocturne

John Field
Nocturne
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Themes & character
The inventor of the form·Singing right hand·Pedal-sustained bass·Chopin's model

At a glance

Form
Nocturne

About the piece

A nocturne by the Irish composer who invented the genre. Field published the first pieces under that name around 1812, establishing the template: a singing melody in the right hand over a widely spaced left hand held together by the sustaining pedal. Chopin studied these pieces closely and built his own nocturnes directly on them, then surpassed them so completely that Field's originals fell out of the repertoire. Field, for his part, is reported to have been unimpressed by his successor's work.

The composer

John Field

John Field may refer to:John Field (1886–1979), American football player and coach John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer John Field (dancer) (1921–1991), British dancer of the Royal Ballet John Field (Puritan) (1545–1588), British Puritan John Field (astronomer) (1520/30–1587), English astronomer John Field (songwriter), Australian songwriter and musician John A. Field Jr. (1910–1995), U.S. federal judge John Osbaldiston Field (1913–1985), governor of Saint Helena John Field (clothing), outdoor clothes for hunting John Collard Field (1822–1903), member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario John Edwin Field (1936–2020), British physicist

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