Nocturne in B♭ minor, Op. 9 No. 1

The first of the Op. 9 nocturnes: a long, sorrowful melody over flowing arpeggios, with a hushed middle section in octaves.

The story

It opens the same set as the famous E♭ nocturne, published in 1832. Where its sister is sweet, this one is shadowed and restless.

The melody often stretches into long runs of quick notes that do not fit the beat exactly, written to sound improvised.

Two things to know

1. The marking is Larghetto: fairly slow.
2. The middle section moves to D♭ major and is marked sotto voce: in an undertone.

How to play it

In the long runs, do not count every note: start together with the left hand and arrive together, and let the middle float.