Nocturne
Here is my official analysis of the piece.
The writing of this Nocturne proved to be an interesting and exciting challenge. When starting this, I decided that it should be rooted firmly in the traditions of its predecessors. Why mess with such a good thing? You will find all of the traditional components present, including a compound metre, lots of rubato, and a solo piano. The form of the piece is a rather simple binary, with an added introduction and coda.
The piece begins in A-flat major, but the tonality is quickly contested in the next bar with the A in the root becoming a G, bringing us to C minor, or effectively I -- III -- I -- III -- I . The introduction lasts only four bars, with the last bar foreshadowing the end of theme 'A'. As you may have guessed 'A' begins at bar 5. Rhythmically, I have suspended the bass line 'in mid-air' as the melody descends, followed by counterpoint of the same descending figure (bar 5). The 'A' section contains the same harmonic structure as the introduction, so there's nothing new there, but the accompaniment and melody is now creating more interest. There's a lot of the rhythmic ascension in the accompaniment, kind of lifting up the melody as it ebbs and flows. At letter 'B' the piece has shifted to the relative minor, and also lasts another four bars. In the third bar of that section, the tonality moves to Eb major, then quickly back to Ab, then back away to Eb and finally back into the 'A' theme again. The first two bars have a similar ascending accompaniment, keeping the rising and falling consistent. In the third bar, it foreshadows the final waltz-like rhythm to come in the final section of the piece, which is at letter 'D'. It is a repeat of the 'B' section, with the same melody, but the harmonies have been altered. It starts in F minor, but quickly becomes unceartain in the next bar as it seems to become more rooted in Ab, then finally a free cadenza-type section to take us away and back to Ab, where the accompaniment repeats the introduction, and melody closes with a longing figure that sort of says goodbye to everyone, rooted firmly, and deeply, in Ab-major!