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Huneker, James, 1860-1921

"Chopin : the Man and His Music"

The Chopin nocturne is a dramatized
ornament. And why may not Art speak for once in such symbols? In
the much admired F sharp major Nocturne the principal theme makes
its appearance so richly decorated that one cannot avoid
imagining that his fancy confined itself to the Arabesque form
for the expression of its poetical sentiments. Even the middle
part borders upon what I should call the tragic style of
ornament. The ground thought is hidden behind a dense veil, but a
veil, too, can be an ornament."
In another place Ehlert thinks that the F sharp major Nocturne
seems inseparable from champagne and truffles. It is certainly more
elegant and dramatic than the one in F major, which precedes it.
That, with the exception of the middle part in F minor, is weak,
although rather pretty and confiding. The F sharp Nocturne is
popular. The "doppio movemento" is extremely striking and the
entire piece is saturated with young life, love and feelings of
good will to men. Read Kleczynski. The third nocturne of the three
is in G minor, and contains some fine, picturesque writing.


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