A nocturne (from the French which meant nocturnal, from Latin nocturnus) is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. Historically, nocturne is a very old term applied to night Offices and, since the Middle Ages, to divisions in the canonical hour of Matins.
The name nocturne was first applied to pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensemble piece in several movements, normally played for an evening party and then laid aside. Sometimes it carried the Italian equivalent, notturno, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's quadraphonic Notturno in D, K.286, written for four lightly echoing separated ensembles of paired horns with strings, and his Serenata Notturna, K. 239. At this time, the piece was not necessarily evocative of the night, but might merely be intended for performance at night, much like a serenade. The chief difference between the serenade and the notturno was the time of the evening at which they would typically be performed: the former around 9:00pm, the latter closer to 11:00 pm.
"Nocturne" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, performed in Norwegian by Secret Garden representing Norway. It was the second time Norway won the contest, after it had won in 1985 with Bobbysocks! song "La det swinge". For their performance at the Contest the Secret Garden duo of Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Løvland featured two guest musicians; Norwegian vocalist Gunnhild Tvinnereim and Swedish nyckelharpist Åsa Jinder.
The song was performed fifth on the night, following Bosnia and Herzegovina's Davorin Popović with "Dvadeset prvi vijek" and preceding Russia's Philip Kirkorov with "Kolibelnaya dlya vulkana". At the close of voting, it had received 148 points, placing 1st in a field of 23.
The victory represented the second for composer Rolf Løvland, who had previously written "La det swinge". Additionally, it represented the first time in four years that Ireland had not won the Contest (although Sherry herself is Irish), thus bringing to an end the only hat-trick of victories in Eurovision history. Ireland would go on to win the next Contest, achieving the feat of four victories in five years.
A nocturne is a musical composition inspired by, or evocative of, night.
Nocturne may also refer to:
Nihil is the eighth studio album by industrial rock group KMFDM, released on April 4, 1995 on Wax Trax!/TVT. Nihil was recorded in 1994 in Seattle, Washington, and featured the return of former band member Raymond Watts and the first appearance of journeyman drummer Bill Rieflin. The album was mostly written by band leader Sascha Konietzko, who emphasized a less guitar-driven sound for the release. Nihil's first single, "Juke Joint Jezebel", is the band's most widely known song of all time, with millions of copies sold over various releases. Widely praised by critics, Nihil is one of the band's best-selling albums. After the original release went out of print, a remastered version was released in 2007.
In late 1993, Sascha Konietzko and fellow multi-instrumentalist En Esch both left Chicago, moving to Seattle and New Orleans, respectively. Lead guitarist Günter Schulz left the country, moving to Kelowna, British Columbia. In early 1994, Konietzko started working on new material, and Schulz came to Seattle to begin adding guitars to the tracks. Later that year, the group assembled in Los Angeles to rehearse for the upcoming Angstfest tour in support of Angst, which spanned April and May. Konietzko, Schulz, Esch, and guitarist Mark Durante were joined by another guitarist, Mike Jensen, for a live show that featured up to four guitarists playing at once. Konietzko and Schulz, along with Dutch singer Dorona Alberti, returned to Seattle to begin recording vocals for Nihil. Konietzko later said he was not happy with the sessions, explaining that nothing was coming together, and only two songs from the upcoming album, "Trust" and "Brute", had been completed to his satisfaction.