The first of Chopin's works to be published in France, Germany, and England were these Nocturnes, op. 9, which appeared over the period from December 1832 to June 1833.

They are composed ( at least a part) in Vienna, and completed in Paris.

This first nocturne immediately confirms the character of the Nocturne. The irregularity of the rhythmic patterns is one aspect of Chopin's style of ornamentation that continues to find varied expression in later works such as Op. 27 no.2.

James Huneker wrote about this nocturne: 'it is at once sensuous and dramatic, melancholy and lovely. Emphatically a mood, it is best heard on a gray day of the soul, when the times are out of joint; its silken tones will bring a triste content as they pour out upon one's hearing. The second section in octaves is of exceeding charm. As a melody it has all the lurking voluptuousness and mystic crooning of its composer. There is flux and reflux throughout, passion peeping out in the coda."