Free Piano Sheet Music – Nocturne In C Minor No. 21 – Op. Post – Chopin

Free Piano Sheet Music – Nocturne In C Minor No. 21 – Op. Post – Chopin

Chopin’s Music of the Night Saved a Pianist


Here’s one of 21 nocturnes composed by French composer/pianist Frederic Chopin, who was popular for his Nocturne music. He composed this in 1830 but it was published after his death (thus posthumous is included in the title) in 1870. As a piano musical form, the Nocturne is called such because it evokes the evening and it also evokes emotions of privacy and subtlety. “Nocturne in C Minor No.21 Op. Posthu.” is hypnotic, moody, and expressive. Specifically expressive are its soft, effortlessly flowing trills and steady playing of the chords. Nocturnes, in general, were performed for night parties and recitals. This one was created by Chopin as an exercise for his second Concerto for his sister.


The piano tempo is Lento or slows throughout. In this complex Nocturne, melody is played by the right hand while the left hand plays the instrumental in Tenuto, meaning performed smoothly and the bass notes held longer. Light pedal creates a Legato melody or a smoothly-connected one throughout. Next, the main theme gets a rerun, though it undergoes a remodeling of the melody--which is a wonderful waterfall-like cascade of notes on the right hand. Here the left plays a totally different rhythm, increasing the difficulty of rendering this nocturne. The second section resembles his second Concerto’s main theme and a little later, it resembles its third movement. Then the piece returns to the main theme with audible variations and some descending trills.


Chopin was a child prodigy, performing for public soirees as early as 8. His works are all well-known and frequently performed. “Nocturne in C Minor No.21 Op. Posthu.” was performed twice in the movie “The Pianist”, a movie which garnered many awards and received critical acclaim. It was based on a Holocaust survivor Natalia Karp’s real story--she played “Nocturne in C Minor No.21 Op. Posthu.” for a Nazi concentration camp officer who decided she played it passably for him to allow her to live.