Franz Liszt Nocturne №3 ​

Liebesträume

l: ​General definition of the nocturne

 
Nocturne in its more familiar form is a single-movement character piece usually written for 
solo piano that characteristically features a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated, even 
guitar-like accompaniment. 
In the case of a performing art, a new level of representation comes into play: the artist's 
representation of himself to his audience. Also very telling is the name of the pianistic genre 
in which Field specialized, the genre in which Liszt had caught him, as it were, in the act of 
performing: it was called the nocturne—a French adaptation of the Italian notturno, “night 
piece.” The word itself was not new to music: Haydn, Mozart, and their contemporaries 
wrote many notturni. One, by Mozart, is famous as Eine kleine Nachtmusik, “a little night 
music,” using the German equivalent of the term. But in the eighteenth century the notturno, 
like the similarly named serenata (“evening music”), was a social genre. 
The word and its attendant music, along with the very idea of the night, had changed 
enormously in their connotations by the time Field wrote his Nocturnes. In his hands they 
became the very emblem of solitude and inwardness. To quote Liszt: “from their very first 
sounds we are immediately transported to those hours when the soul, released from the 
day's burdens, retreats into itself and soars aloft to secret regions of star and sky.” Such a 
music is not without precedent: C. P. E. Bach (1714–88) had written many Fantasias for the 
tiny-voiced clavichord, midnight pieces by necessity that shared features with Field's 
Nocturnes as Liszt described them, especially as concerned the relationship between form 
and expression. Field's Nocturnes, like Bach's Fantasias, had a similar purpose: “to infuse 
the keyboard with feelings and dreams,” to quote Liszt: 
and to free music from the constraints imposed until then by regular and “official” form. 
Field introduced a genre that belonged to none of these existing categories, in which feeling 
and melody reigned supreme, and which moved freely, without the fetters and constraints of 
any preconceived form. 

II:​
Liebesträume

In German: Dream of love. Originally were planned as lieds for voice and piano on poems by
Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In 1850 both versions (3 lieds and 3 transcription
for piano solo) were published.
Two poems by Uhland and last by Freiligrath represent 3 forms of love. "Hohe Liebe" -
exalted religious love, "Gestorben war ich" - erotic love, "O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst" -
unconditional mature love.

Sources:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturne
- Oxford History of Western Music: Richard Taruskin, Chapter 2 Private Music : Music in the
Nineteenth Century
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_music_terminology
III:​
Nocturne №3 ​
Liebesträume Analyse

The form of nocturne:

Thema ​ a​appears 6 times during the piece. They have a similar melodic material, but they
are not completely identical. In section B thema ​a​is in B major and melody takes place
above accompaniment arpeggio figurations and harmonic progression becomes more rich
what makes thema ​ a​more energetic. In sections A and A’ thema​a​is more calm and lyric.
Thema ​ b​​
appears 2 times. Like theme ​a​, ​b​also has similar melodic material and
transformations. ​
b​is longer than a, has pathetical declamation character (​b​​poco cresc. ed
agitato​
,​b’​​
Appassionato assai​ ), has modulations. Both​b​leads to​Cadenzas​. ​Coda​is only
place where arpeggio figurations replaced by vertical chords, which gives choral character.
V.A.C - Volkomen authentieke cadens (perfect authentic cadence)
P.C - Plagal cadence

A ​As major, modulations

a​(mm1-6)
a​theme placed between left and right hands. Character ​Dolce cantando ​(​Sweet singing​).
Harmony changing once per bar.

a’ (mm7-12)
Has same harmony as ​a​
, but melody reaches accented fa in bar10 and in dynamic cresc in
bar 7-8. French augmented sixth chord in bar 8.

b​ (mm13-24)
Poco cresc. ed agitato​(gradually getting louder and agitated). Harmony starts to change
more frequently (mm20-23 every half bar). ​b​contains a lot of mol-dur S and II chords,
modulations (mm15-16 ​ C​major, mm17-19 ​E​major, mm20-23​as​minor) and leads to 1st
Cadenza ​(m25). Dynamic and melody line growing to bar 17 (reaching E major) and then
going down trough harmonic play between VI6 in E major and D, II in as minor. In
modulation to minor T Liszt is enharmonising chords (1st chord in bar 20(D53 for III in E
major = D53 in as minor) is harmonicaly equal to 1st chord in bar 21). In bar 23 appears
descending part of as minor scale without arpeggios figurations, what makes it sounds more
like dramatic recitative/declamation.

Cadenza
Virtuous passage goes up and then back down, preparing for new tonality
(​
fa​
♭-​mi​♭=
​ mi-re#​).
B ​B major, C major, E major, As major, modulations
a’’ ​
(mm26-31)
Melody now placed above figurations. Tonality changed to ​B​major. Character ​Piu animato
con passione ​ More animated with passion​). Harmony changes mostly one time per bar.
(​
Arpeggio figurations now in both stuff lines.

a’’’ ​
(mm32-37)
Harmony is changing every half bar. In 2nd half of bar 33 appears chord which can be
interpreted ​C​major as II43 with altered 1,3,5 (DD43) or as German augmented sixth chord.
a’’’​​modulates from ​B​major to ​
C​major. In the bass line there is descending movement:
si-la#-la-la​♭​-sol​(mm32-34) and then ​sol ​is bass for 3 more bars, which reinforces the
attraction to D7 in bar 36. Dynamic is growing from bar 32 to​​forte​in bar 35. In bar 36
melody is doubled with octaves.

b’ ​
(mm38-58)
b’ ​
contains climax of the piece. Arpeggio figurations are larger and more various. Melody is
doubled with chords and octaves. Bass line has octaves too. ​Sempre stringendo​(alway gets
gradually faster). Theme ​ b’​develops and variates (appears more accents, rhythm changes
(mm52-55), contains some motives of ​a​​themes (e.g. mm43-46 has similar motive to
mm29-31).
b’​starts in ​C​major and then modulates to ​E​major (bar41). In 2nd half of bar 48 again
appears German augmented sixth chord. In this bar Liszt also enharmonizes ​sol#​with ​la​♭
and gets back to ​ As ​
major. D7 in bar 58 is anticipated by ​Mi​in bass line in previous bars
(mm51,53,56-58)
Dynamic riches ff (bar 41). Remarks are changing on the way to culmination from​Sempre
più rinforzando​(always more reinforce), ​Appassionato assai​​(Very passionate​) to ​affrettando
(hurrying). ​b’​gains more and more energy and reaches climax (also highest note of the
piece) of the piece in bar 58 and ​Cadenza 2

Cadenza 2
Virtuous passage forms two descending waves. They dissipate all the intense energy of
climax. At second wave appears remark ​leggiero ​(​Lightly, delicately​)
A’ ​As major
a’’’’ ​
(mm60-65)
Theme has same harmony as ​ a​, but melody voice stays above figurations. In beginning of
piece remark was ​Dolce cantabile​, but now it is ​Dolce armonioso ​(Harmoniously sweetly)
and Liszt adds two chords on 3rd and 4th beat.

a’’’’’ ​
(mm66-75)
a​is prolonged in its last appearance. All a theme before where six bars long and theme ​a’’’’’
is 10 bars. Melody is slowing down (in bar 70 ​poco a poco rit​. and even more​ritenuto​and
pui smorzando​(Extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and
very often in tempo as well) in bar 74)

Coda​(mm76-84)
Arpeggios figurations disappear and vertical chords take place which gives choral character.
There can be hear echo with ​ a’’’’’​(mm69-71 in melody ​do-fa, si​♭​-mi​♭​and in mm76-79
upper voice of chords also ​ do-fa, si​♭-​mi​♭​). Liszt also plays with harmony in bar 78. Instead
of exact harmony copy in sequence he replaces DD43 with French augmented sixth chord.
In bar 80 appears Neapolitan sixth chord. ​Mi​in bass of bar 81 anticipating D7 in 2nd half of
the bar. After T in bar 82 composer plays with middle voices, creating DD with altered S
function and mol-dur S.