Hello and Happy New Year. I guess I'm still in the Nocturne mood. Comments most welcome.

Field Nocturne No. 5 in B-flat major

Chopin Nocturne Op. 72, No. 1.mp3

The Chopin nocturne was beautiful. It was the first nocturne I learnt so it brings back fond memories! Very well played.

you already mastered the Field nocturne? did you take my advice with the pseudo-hot flashes and kick your family out of the house for a week or two? A quick learner you are.

forgot to comment on the chopin nocturne :

To me it seemed kindof dry in the left hand. This nocturne reminds me of a stomach-ache, (to be blunt) your recording gave me the impression of minor gas . I don't know how I can tell you to put more of a sickness feeling to it but I guess thats just my subjective opinion.

ok, i am ready.

You should start to create a profile for john field. I KNOW you liked it very much.
musicality 8/10. Twice I heard the pedalling was lack of legato.

The first part ending-the big roll chords, should hold a little longer, it sounds too short before you progress to next chord.

Chopin----musicality 9/10, again twice I heard the pedalling was not legato before entering to next pharse. Did you do that unpurpose so the audience would know that you are into next phase?

When reached the climax, i am sure your recorder is showing up(maxium)-it starts to distord. You might need to re-ajust the settings to a "small room"; its better to be under rather "over"load.

thank you Monica.

Really well played (may I say as usual ). I liked this Field nocturne better than the previous you submitted. Perhaps because it sounds closer to a Chopin composition which I am much more used to listen to.

The Chopin Nocturne is played with delicacy and feel, as you are really into the piece and leaves little to be wished for. In my edition, the RH chord in bar 26 is arpeggiated and in bar 34, you play a trill in RH in the ascending RH 10 which is not in my score.
I am used to a slightly higher tempo and more power and tension in the bars 38-42 (bar 40 is marked ff in my edition) but this is more a matter of taste and I know that the Edirol evens out the dynamics a bit.

Overall, very good!

Thank you, Conor13579, Juufa(and people think I'm goofy ), Johnmar and Robert. Another pair of ears definitely helps.

Johnmar, you're right about the pedal. There are days when my foot just won't do what I want. And after 2,000 takes, the connection between my brain, hands, and feet is all mixed up. I'm also blaming the full moon that was out yesterday.

Robert, I too have heard this nocturne played at a faster tempo, but I just don't like it that way. Probably because I can't play it any faster. Interesting you show those differences in scores.

Oh, juufa...


(Chopin Nocturne) The ornaments were nicely articulated, BTW. I liked your use of the soft pedal in the pp sections, they were nicely contrasted with the rest of the piece. Something a bit off in the timing of the pedal here and there but not enough to affect the rec. negatively. Maybe the intonation of the piano is what ailed your foot? (If my piano is just a little out of tune, I have similar problems.)

I liked it, as per usual. Encore!

(Field Nocturne) I don't know this piece well enough to make an objective comment, so I'll comment at the risk of being subjective. There are many good things here. The ornaments (as well as the very end) were very sweetly played. Still, I felt like I wanted to hear more expression, more of a nocturnal feel instead of a classical mood throughout the piece. Maybe a more relaxed tempo with a more distinct duple feel to the bass and more cantabile melodic lines would do it?

I noticed whenever r.h. ornaments were played, your l.h. fell perfectly in line as you held the pedal. (I think I'm hearing tension in your feet and/or your l.h. Does that make sense?)

B-flat major is a funny duck.

Quack, quack.

Thanks, PJF. I think you're right about the Field Nocturne. Now I think it should be more relaxed.
And yes, I have a lot of tension in my body when I play. It's a problem for me. I need a message. A very, very long one.
I don't know what's going on with my pedalling lately.
I'm going to re-record this one when my kids wake up.

If anybody is still around, here is my second attempt at this Field nocturne. I tried to be more relaxed.

Field Nocturne No. 5

YES YES YES!!! That made me smile.

Pete

Thanks, Pete.

(And I meant massage, not message. (laughing at myself) Not that a message from someone wouldn't hurt but it won't feel that great.)

Since I had just given a long message, I thought for a second you'd overdone the red wine.

Just listened to the first Field version, which I had downloaded at home this morning and put on my USB stick. Very steadily played ! I much admire your firm touch and rhythm, as well as your accuracy. I like the way you play the sections with the repeating chords. Not a mightily interesting Nocturne, but not one of the worst either. You do it proud, and perhaps being clear-eyed and steady works better in Field than getting sentimental. But, it could still be this needs a bit more relaxation and poetry. I'll listen to your second version tonight, unless you care to mail it to me.

The Chopin is impressive and sonorous, and as good as note perfect. The various flourishes are very well executed. This, too, could perhaps be just a little more rleaxed, but it does not really have to - this work seems to have a certain tension of itself. If I must niggle at all, it's that you are using too much pedal in places, and that sometimes the last note of your LH triplets can't be heard (or was that in the Field ? anyway, this is a problem that I also have).

Say, Monica, heaving learned you are a writer (or was to that supposed to remain a secret ?), any chance you can provide a Field bio for the site ? I mean not just grab a text from Wikipedia but actually compile something mildly unique from various sources ? I did this for all the recent bios I added but it takes so much time and I am getting fat and lazy If you want to do it, look at some existing recent ones (e.g. Turina or Sibelius) for the template and style. Basically three parts : life overview - important compositions - piano works. I'd be much obliged !

Thank you, Chris.
Check your email.