The Op 165
Nocturne was published in 1925, and it bespeaks a composer who has attained a serene maturity without relinquishing one whit of her elegance. The poised and limpid outer sections perhaps inevitably awake echoes of Fauré. But now Chaminade is able to approach the profundity of the older composer’s last nocturnes, finding real depth of emotion in the più animato middle section. Clarity and calm are restored in the reprise, and the piece expires in a rippling coda.
from notes by Calum MacDonald © 1994
