These enchanting nocturnes were composed for the instrumentation of horn and harp, which was popular almost exclusively in France for a short period. Frederic Duvernoy, celebrated 1st horn player at the Paris Opera, horn professor at the Conservatoire, and admired by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, was an advocate of the "cor mixte". In compositional terms, this referred to a rather restricted register in the middle range of the horn. Particularly spectacular excursions into the high and low registers were avoided, with the main focus placed on cantabile playing.
His three nocturnes were written after 1815 and were first published by the Parisian publishing house Richault. Duvernoy states on the title page that the harp part was reviewed by his friend, the harpist Naderman.
