John Field: Nocturne No. 9 in E minor

Hello everybody, this is my first posting on Piano Society.

I'm a big admirer of Field's nocturnes and am attaching one of my favourites that I recorded a while ago, No. 9 in E minor.

Hope it is OK.

Mark

Field - Nocturne No.9 in E minor

 

Field

This also one of my favorites of Field's Nocturnes. You played it beautifully---sensitive and elegant. What kind of piano is that? Is it a digital?

 

Thanks

It's a Yamaha P120 digital piano recorded directly to hard disk.

 

Well played, nice touch, excellent debut. Will you record all of Field's nocturnes :wink:

 

This is very nice indeed (even if I can't quite share the enthousiasm for Field's nocturnes).
Played very calm and relaxed, and also delicate. elegant and sensitive as others said. I do not hear a problem with that chromatic run excepot perhaps it could have been a little more even.

Well done, a good debut. If you provide your details we will put this up the site.

 

Thanks for your all your replies and comments

Techneut, how do I go about providing my details?

Mark

 

You write something about yourself that you'd like to have as a biograph on your personal page. If you are unsure about it, look at some existing bios to get an idea. You can either post it on the forum or mail it to me (cbreemer@hotmail.com). A photo will be nice too but not mandatory.

 

Thanks. Here's a short blurb that I've written, hope's it OK (I'll sort out a photo and send that to you later):


"Mark Hopwood

Mark Hopwood is 31 years old has a degree in music from the University of Liverpool, England, as well as the Associate Diploma (A. T. C. L.) from Trinity College, London. He is particularly interested in the pre-Classical music of the mid-18th century and an advocate of the works of C. P. E. Bach, who he still believes to be undervalued. He also enjoys playing the sonatas of Haydn and some of the Field and Chopin nocturnes.

Mark lives in Chester, England and is hoping to do an M. A. with a thesis relating to C. P. E. Bach next year."

 

Ok Mark, you are up the site. Welcome to Piano Society, please review your page on

http://server3.pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=1400

and check for errors. I have changed your bio to use absolute dates, as statements like '31 years old' and 'next year' will no longer be correct next year.

It will be nice to have some C.P.E. Bach on the site, as he was a seminal composer, and a good one in his own right. Just his bad luck to always get compared with his father.

 

Thanks. I have another Field Nocturne already recorded, but it is the B flat major one that you already have on the site, so not sure that I should submit it?

I have two other pieces almost ready to record, so hopefully get them done with the next few weeks. One is the first Prussian sonata by C. P. E. Bach, the other is Haydn's sonata Hob. 45 in E flat major.

 

By all means do. We like having multiple performances of the same works on the site.

 

Field Nocturne No. 15 in B Flat Major

OK, here's my version of the well-known B Flat Major nocturne. I really like this piece - a few small slips at the end though :|

Interestingly, every version of this that I've heard has been played "andante", and I think I prefer it at this speed. I've played it andante on this recording, although the version you have on the site is played more slowly (and marked "assai lento" on the corresponding piece of sheet music). Perhaps Field didn't indicate an original tempo marking?

Mark

Field - Nocturne no.15 in D minor

 

Pianolady, you are entitled to your opinion: I don't think it's true that it has no dynamics at all, and I was quite pleased with the phrasing in it, which, after all is important in Field's music and lacking in the other nocturnes on this site. I agree that the final two bars have slips in and need to tidied up.

 

I agree with you, there certainly are dynamics even if they are not as pronounced as some people would prefer them. For a piece of modest scope and ambition like this, I think they are adequate. It is a shame about the several inaudible notes. I know well that problem.... Seems like the only solution is to work on a generally firmer touch, which will also make it easier to differentiate shades of piano. Nice job all the same, and don't feel obliged to re-record it unless you really want to.

 

It is hard to be more expressive on a digital piano - that's one of the drawbacks of them, I suppose. But I think in the context of Field's music this isn't a great problem, as it is relatively small scale. The phrasing is important, and it certainly shouldn't be played in a full-square sort of way.

 

I love the Field Nocturnes and I really enjoyed your performances - and I'm not just saying that because I live 30 miles down the road from you!!

 

Have you got a favourite Field nocturne, Paul? I think my favourite is No. 4 in A major.

 

Yes Mark, No.7 in C.

One reason for that (and how I discovered it in the first place) is that Malcolm Arnold used it as a basis for his Fantasy on a Theme of John Field for Piano and Orchestra - a magnificent piece.

Speaking of that composer - I am planning at some point to make my auditioning debut on this site with one or two of his early pieces for piano. My theory is that I am thinking the majority of this site's members won't be familiar with Arnold, let alone his music (hope I'm wrong), and given that my abilities are at the lower end of the spectrum (see my signature) there won't be anything to judge me against!

This thread has prompted me to listen to and copy off the score from Monica's performance of No. 5 and have a look at at it myself. If you can offer us a version of No. 7 I'd look forward to hearing it.

The recording I own of Field's Nocturnes is by Bart van Oort who plays an 1823 Broadwood. I usually prefer a modern piano sound but I have really come to enjoy this set.

Paul