Irish composer John Field was the first composer to use the term 'Nocturne' in the Romantic sense, to apply to a character piece featuring a cantabile melody over an arpeggiated accompaniment. He has been widely credited as the inventor of the genre.

List of works

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There is no congruent historic numbering for the nocturnes. This list is arranged according to Hopkinson numbers, introduced in the 1961 catalogue by Cecil Hopkinson.

  • H 24 – Nocturne for piano No. 1 in E-flat major – 1812
  • H 25 – Nocturne for piano No. 2 in C minor – 1812
  • H 26 – Nocturne for piano No. 3 in A-flat major – 1812
  • H 36 – Nocturne for piano No. 4 in A major – 1817
  • H 37 – Nocturne for piano No. 5 in B-flat major – 1817
  • H 40 – Nocturne for piano No. 6 "Cradle Song" in F major – 1817
  • H 45 – Nocturne for piano No. 7 "Reverie" in C major – 1821
  • H 46 – Nocturne for piano No. 8 in E minor – 1821
  • H 14E – Nocturne for piano No. 9 "Pastorale" in A major
  • H 30A – Nocturne for piano No. 10 "Romance" in E-flat major – 1816
  • H 56 – Nocturne for piano No. 11 in E-flat major – 1832
  • H 58D – Nocturne for piano No. 12 in G major – 1822
  • H 59 – Nocturne for piano No. 13 "Song without Words" in D minor – 1834
  • H 60 – Nocturne for piano No. 14 in C major – 1835
  • H 61 – Nocturne for piano No. 15 in C major – 1836
  • H 62 – Nocturne for piano No. 16 in F major – 1836
  • H 54 – Nocturne for piano [No. 17] "Grande Pastorale" in E major – (two different versions)
  • H 13K – Nocturne for piano [No. 18] "Noontide" in E major

Additional nocturnes:

  • H 55 – Nocturne for piano "The Troubadour" in C major
  • H 63 – Nocturne for piano in B-flat major – op. posth.
  • H 66 – Nocturne "Dernière pensèe"

Sources

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  • Cecil Hopkinson, 'A Bibliographical Thematic Catalogue of the Works of John Field, 1782–1837' (London, 1961)