Op 62 no 2 was, until earlier this year, merely a nocturne I could hum along to, but never really cared for. It lacked the jewelled mystery of Op 9 no 1, the sly jazz of Op 55 no 2, the desertlike, almost proto-Satiesque tint of Op 15 no 3*, the enchanting coda of its sister Op 62 no 1… well, it didn’t seem to hold much at all. An afterthought, something dashed off for quick money.
But listening to the Rubinstein recording on YouTube a few months ago, I seemed to hear it with fresh ears. I was particularly struck, I think, by the idea that various people in the comments sections of several interpretations seemed to concur on, that it was a kind of farewell. This is not just because it was the last nocturne published in his lifetime. There is a strong musical case for the valedictory nature of this piece, in which Chopin seems to perfect his signature Mona Lisesque cocktail of sadness, peace and, of course, lyricism.
Yet this piece is, paradoxically, not just a summation of, but also a departure from, the art of a lifetime. The melody is simple, initially unadorned, as is usual for a nocturne. But it has a heavier feeling than other major-key nocturnes; it is not merely mystery, as with the famous D-flat, or the worried chromatic reflections of Op 9 no 3, but something more; the nocturne which comes closest to it in mood is Op 32 no 1. It is not even like the minor-key nocturnes most comparable to it (Op 48 no 1, Op 55 no 1); the former is entirely bleak, the latter wholly melancholy. Some could argue that the heaviness of this nocturne is a function of the directed slow tempo, not the melody itself, but even in the fastest recordings it’s hard to miss the tension in the rise from F# to C# (bars 3-4), or the peaceful, parlant sadness in bar 7. The sadness is accentuated by the choice of LH accompaniment; the nocturnes tend to have either a rocking bass (Op 27, Op 9 no 1), triplets (rotating or pattering), or simple crotchets (Op 48 no 1, Fm Op 55, this nocturne). Chopin tends to use the deep bass crotchets for a heavy atmosphere, often giving the impression of someone on a laborious journey, or unhurried reflection.
Now, slowly, he starts to decorate the melody. The ornamentation has the impression of someone showing off for the last time; it’s not a full-fledged virtuosic showpiece like the Berceuse, which recalls the brilliance of the Op 2 variations, but more restrained, spaced out. There are lovely decorations, such as the sighing chromatic grace notes and the angry tumble/trill, but particularly poignant is the increasing intricacy of the melody’s first bar- first those little semiquavers, then the characteristic lightning-fast run, then a jagged leap followed by a downward cascade. It’s as though you’re watching, for the last time, a spark clutched in a hand, which, every time it’s opened, glows and dances a little more.
Then, suddenly, the mood shifts. This, by usual nocturne standards, is not sudden; it builds up a little creeping bass, the mounting tension reminiscent of that seismic passage after the statement of the first melody in the fourth Ballade. It takes you slowly to an agitato section so typical of a Chopin nocturne, which, if you haven’t yet realised, is an obligatory feature rather than a spontaneous expression of emotion…. One plays through this out of duty, tradition; it’s another “one-last-time” demonstration of unusually restrained rage, even for Chopin.
And then suddenly the storm fades, and we are back to the calm… nope. Agitated theme returns, but mildly, before the nocturne draws quietly to a close.
There are many good recordings of this piece, but few quite at the tempo and aesthetic I personally prefer. I spent many weeks looking for one before deciding that Pires, Jakob Gimpel, Kun-Woo Paik and Blechacz had the best interpretations. The first three are all on the slower side, but quiet, bright and aching respectively; Blechacz is faster than I personally prefer, but it's too good a recording to leave out.
The Gimpel video is above; here are the others
*The title of this post originally lacked a question mark, but I later realised that Op 15 no 3 is a serious contender for the title, and is probably going to get its own post.
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