An F♯ major nocturne shaded throughout by D natural, a note borrowed from F♯ minor.
62 bars2/4Larghetto5-page PDFLevel 6 of 8
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Form
A theme, played twiceB the bass slides downC doppio movimentoT the dominant againA′ theme returnsCoda the tonic held
Opening, bars 1–8 · F♯ major
Section by section
A (1–16): the theme
Bars 1–4 swing between V⁷ and I. Bar 5 reaches G♯ minor (ii) through its own dominant, D♯⁷. In bar 11, iiø⁷ (G♯, B, D, F♯) brings in D natural, borrowed from F♯ minor.
B (17–24): the bass slides down
Chopin's bass falls by half steps, C♯, C, B, A♯, under F♯ minor, D⁷, B⁷ and A♯. A♯ is the dominant of D♯ minor, which never comes.
C (25–38): doppio movimento
Twice as fast. Chopin's bass holds C♯ under V⁷ and diminished sevenths, then D under E⁷ (♭VII⁷, borrowed from F♯ minor) in bars 33–38.
T (39–48): the dominant again
D natural leans on C♯ in nearly every bar, over V and F♯ minor. The theme returns at bar 49.
Coda (57–62): the tonic held
Bar 57 repeats the turn of bar 8, D♯ minor then B♯°⁷, and lands on C♯⁷. F♯ arrives in bar 58 and rings to the end.
The PDF includes a full page of analysis.
