Nocturne No.1 in E flat minor Op.33 No.1 (c1875)

Barcarolle No.1 in A minor Op.26 (1881?)

Fauré’s first Nocturne was written more than six years before the two that were published alongside it in the Op.33 set in 1883. Even so, comparatively unsophisticated though it is, the Nocturne in E flat minor is more ambitious in both scale and breadth of expression than either of the others. The Chopin influence is obvious from the begining but the pathos of the opening section, with its expressive melodic line apparently pulled down from the upper register by the sinking chromatic harmonies beneath it, is quite distinctive. In the middle section too, although Chopin intrudes at first in an ominous and sustained rumble in the bass, the scoring of the contrasting theme, the left hand crossing high over the right in an exquisite kind of heterophony, is refreshingly original. A somewhat fanciful cadenza leads into a resourcefully varied reprise of the opening section.

Barcarolle No.1 in A minor Op.26 (1881?)

Fauré’s first Nocturne was written more than six years before the two that were published alongside it in the Op.33 set in 1883. Even so, comparatively unsophisticated though it is, the Nocturne in E flat minor is more ambitious in both scale and breadth of expression than either of the others. The Chopin influence is obvious from the beginning but the pathos of the opening section, with its expressive melodic line apparently pulled down from the upper register by the sinking chromatic harmonies beneath it, is quite distinctive. In the middle section too, although Chopin intrudes at first in an ominous and sustained rumble in the bass, the scoring of the contrasting theme, the left hand crossing high over the right in an exquisite kind of heterophony, is refreshingly original. A somewhat extravagant cadenza leads into a resourcefully varied reprise of the opening section.

The first of the thirteen Barcarolles – which, together with the thirteen Nocturnes, represent Fauré’s major and most thoughtful contribution to the piano repertoire – was written at about the same time as the two later Nocturnes of the Op.33 set and displays much the same qualities. A highly sophisticated piece of piano writing, it is irresistibly appealing in its wistful melodic material and its mainly rueful harmonies. At the same time, in comparison with Chopin’s great example in F sharp minor or Fauré’s own more mature Barcarolles, it is limited in ambition. The outer sections, gently animated by the swaying compound metre characteristic of the genre, is based on a rising and falling theme shared by the two hands in the middle of the keyboard. In radiant contrast, the C major middle sections takes the thematic interest into a higher register, neatly setting its apparently 3/4 melody against the continuing 6/8 in the arpeggiated accompaniment and developing it with some passion. Again, as in the Nocturne in E flat minor but more economically this time, a cadenza leads into a reprise of the opening section.