I'm Chopin... but, uh... Not. (Field Sonata in F-Sharp Minor, Nocturnes 4 & 5)

When I listen to Field's works, a movie immediately springs to mind. That movie: Amadeus. Why? Because in the film (for all of us that haven't seen it a trillion times) Mr. Salieri is in competition with W.A. Mozart, the clearly better composer. Such it is with Field and Chopin, but I don't think the competition was so direct. Both Field's sonata and nocturnes are simplistic, and do not exploit the instrument as Chopin's works do. His melodies are simpler as well, lacking the embellishment that we have come to expect in a nocturne, due in large part to Chopin's operatic melody lines. I found it really hard to get all that excited about these works, to be honest. They feel underdeveloped, but have their place. I know he did it first, but... I can't bring myself to more than passing amusement. I want pretty overtones locking in, and melodies that don't lay in perfectly rhythmically over the accompaniment. While formally well composed, and technically correct, these pieces lack the 'so-what' factor that makes me care, as a player or listener.