Nocturnalia

In 1848 Chopin gave a number of concerts in Scotland, but it was during his performances held en famille, in stately houses rather than in large concert halls, that his music showed the melancholy and plaintive sentiment which typically pervaded his ailing soul. Organized in such a mansion - the sixteenth century Bamff House - Nocturnalia featured exclusively nocturnes by the precursor of this musical form - John Field - as well as those by Frédéric Chopin himself, including the two Nocturnes, which he dedicated to his Scottish benefactor.