Noctave
The piece
The second of the three Op. 15 nocturnes, this Larghetto is written in a highly ornamented style: the melody, often on repeated notes, is decorated with quick runs in small note values that shoot up into the treble. The central section, marked doppio movimento and sotto voce, doubles the tempo: there the right hand leads both a melody and an inner voice in fast notes, above left-hand chords. Then the Larghetto returns, more briefly.
With six sharps in the key signature and further accidentals on top, reading is the first hurdle: take time to name the notes before you play. The ornamental right-hand runs reach eleven attacks per second: they decorate the melody and should be light and smooth, aimed at the note where they land. The melody’s repeated notes, around forty of them, should each sing slightly differently, never struck. In the doppio movimento, separate the melody from the inner voice first, then combine them with the melody on top.