Huit nocturnes, FP 56
Eight nocturnes composed between 1929 and 1938, published as a collection in 1938. Unlike Field's or Chopin's nocturnes, Poulenc's are varied in character — some gentle and lyrical, others haunted or ironic. Several carry programmatic subtitles: Bal des jeunes filles (No. 2), Les cloches de Malines (No. 3), Bal fantome (No. 4), Phalenes (No. 5). No. 8 is designated 'pour servir de coda au cycle', tying the set together as a unified meditation on memory and night.
Works in this Collection (8)
- Nocturne No. 1 No. 1 Key C major
- Nocturne No. 2 (Bal des jeunes filles) No. 2 Key A major
- Nocturne No. 3 (Les cloches de Malines) No. 3 Key F major
- Nocturne No. 4 (Bal fantome) No. 4 Key C minor
- Nocturne No. 5 (Phalenes) No. 5 Key B minor
- Nocturne No. 6 No. 6 Key G major
- Nocturne No. 7 No. 7 Key Eb major
- Nocturne No. 8 (pour servir de coda au cycle) No. 8 Key G major