Noctave
The piece
This is one of Chopin’s very first nocturnes, written well before the ones he published, and it only appeared in 1855 through Julian Fontana, hence its place near the end of his catalogue. You can already hear the formula he would develop: a slow melody, molto legato, resting on broad left-hand arpeggios. The score also carries an unusual marking, aspiratamente, like a song catching its breath.
The left hand plays almost two thirds of the notes, in eighth-note triplets that open well beyond the octave: there are 171 quick leaps, all in the left hand. Practise it alone with a supple hand, letting the arm glide from one position to the next. The real difficulty comes afterwards: for some twenty beats, the right hand splits the beat in two while the left splits it in three. The right hand’s second eighth note then falls between the second and third notes of the triplet; count it slowly before letting the melody flow. Trills and grace notes stay light.