Nocturne no. 3 in B Major

Performance

Here

Structure

Chopin's third nocturne is the least recognized out of the three. It is no where even close to the same popularity as the other two, and this is most likely due to the fact that it is more harmonically complex than the others, where the melody is easily digestible by non-classical listeners. This piece was also the most experimental out of the three, with a much different middle section than the first two, and an excess use of chromatic notes in the main melody. This created modulations that were never seen before and most likely influenced future composers. It also allows us to peer into the younger mind of Chopin, where we can start to see the early formation of his Ballade style. It's in B major and is in 6/8. It comes out to 157 bars. This piece uses the left hand arpeggios just like the first nocturne, only to be ubruptly stopped in the middle section. The melody follows chromatics as mentioned earlier, but it still has this sense of nostalgia attached to it. The middle section is extremely intense, and this is where we see the Ballade origins. It then goes back to the first section, followed by a coda to finish it off, following the original ABA strcutre just like the first one.

Signifigance

As mentioned before, the use of chromatic notes to modulate has influenced many future and even current composers to continue and explore this idea. It also planted the seed of the Ballades in Chopin's head. Other than these things, there was not much signifigance to this piece as it was overshadowed by the other two in this set.

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