Where Chopin got an idea.

[0101szopen]

It's easy to assume Chopin was under the influence of John Field's Nocturnes since John Field himself came up with the genre of the Nocturne and Chopin's best known pieces are under this same genre. Well I think I noticed something no one else has to this day concerning that fact. Frederic Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No.2 in E-Flat Major is nothing but a variation, a paraphrase or a derived theme of John Field's Nocturne No.6 in F Major. Please make sure you listen to both compositions carefully and see if you notice any similarities. I know I do. I just felt like sharing the thought. If everyone agrees with this it may become a trivia fact to include under the Wikipedia article of Frederic Chopin's Op. 9: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturnes,_Op._9_(Chopin) Cheers

[NLewis]

Trivia fact? I'd call it more of an opinion, personally

I do hear similarities, yes.

[sbeckmesser]

You sure you got the right Field piece? The authoritative The Music of Chopin by Jim Samson (Oxford UP, 1985/1994) says:

"The influence [of Field] is at its strongest, predictably enough, in the early Nocturnes. It is enough to compare the well-known E flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 with the two nocturnes in the same key by Field to see the connection. It is almost as though Chopin has combined elements of both. The waltz-like accompaniment patter and the broad harmonics scheme of Op. 9 No.2 are similar to the second of Field's E flat Nocturnes, and the second themes of both pieces begin with an almost identical gesture. . . . Other details of melodic construction are very similar in all three nocturnes -- the turn followed by an ascending leap and the parlando repeated notes and the consequent."

I myself hear these resemblances as more striking than between Op.9 No.2 and Field's F-major nocturne.

--Sixtus

[0101szopen]

Haha yeah I guess is more of a personal insight than a trivia fact hahahaha. But I'm so convinced that Chopin Op.9 No.2 derives directly from Field's No.6 Nocturne that I could almost swear it. My hearing observation is in the opening phrase to be exact, the practical motif of the nocturne that gives it its distinctive "catchyness." Chopin's hook on this phrase sounds a bit more articulate than Field's because thats the point of paraphrasing a musical passage right? You suddenly hear something and is pretty but still leaves you with a feeling of unsatisfaction so you make a timing adjustment with an extra note variations and voila you derive your theme from someone else's. Then it takes some 200 years for someone to feel the connection. maybe it happen to fredi on a subconscious level and he never really notice himself or maybe i'm just wrong

[Rogerg]

There is a similarity but Field is too wandering. Chopin knows how to get right to the point.