John Field wrote his Nocturne in E minor in 1822. Usually listed as either no. 10, 9, or 8, it is referred to as 46 in Cecil Hopkinson's catalogue. It has received the nickname of Melancholie. Field championed a new musical form that didn't follow a program, simple in structure, and clear in mood. The nocturnes were not built as fantasies, rondos, variations, etc. :They focused instead on chromatically decorated melodies over left hand parts supported by very senstive pedalling. These pieces were admired by Frédéric Chopin, who subsequently made the piano nocturne famous, and Franz Liszt, published an edition of the nocturnes based on rare Russian sources.
