Abarcarolle (/ˈbɑːrkəroʊl/BAR-kə-rohl; fromFrench, alsobarcarole; originally,Italianbarcarola orbarcaruola, frombarca 'boat')[1] is a traditionalfolk song sung byVenetiangondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. Inclassical music, two of the most famous barcarolles areJacques Offenbach's "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour", from hisoperaThe Tales of Hoffmann; andFrédéric Chopin'sBarcarolle in F-sharp major for solo piano.
A barcarolle is characterized by a rhythm reminiscent of the gondolier's stroke, almost invariably in6
8 metre at a moderate tempo.[2]
While the most-famous barcarolles are from theRomantic period, the genre was known well enough in the 18th century forBurney to mention, inThe Present State of Music in France and Italy (1771), that it was a celebrated form cherished by "collectors of good taste".[3]
The barcarolle was a popular form in opera, where the apparently artless sentimental style of the folklike song could be put to good use. In addition to the Offenbach example:Paisiello,Weber, andRossini wrotearias that were barcarolles;Donizetti set the Venetian scene at the opening ofMarino Faliero (1835) with a barcarolle for a gondolier and chorus; andVerdi included a barcarolle inUn ballo in maschera (i.e., Richard's atmospheric "Di’ tu se fidele il flutto m’aspetta" in Act I).[3] Thetraditional Neapolitan barcarolle "Santa Lucia" was published in 1849. The 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire,Sultan Abdulaziz (1830–1876), also composed a barcarolle, entitled "La Gondole Barcarolle".[4][5]
Arthur Sullivan set the entry of Sir Joseph Porter's barge (also bearing his sisters, cousins and aunts) inH.M.S. Pinafore to a barcarolle, as well as the Trio "My well-loved lord and guardian dear" among Phyllis, Earl Tolloller and the Earl of Mountararat in Act I ofIolanthe.Schubert, while not using the name specifically, used a style reminiscent of the barcarolle in some of his most famous songs, including especially his haunting "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" ("To be sung on the water"), D.774.[3]
Other notable barcarolles include: the second movement ofLudwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in G, Opus 79; the three "Venetian Gondola Songs" fromMendelssohn'sSongs Without Words, Opp. 19, 30 and 62; the "June" barcarolle fromTchaikovsky'sThe Seasons;Charles-Valentin Alkan's Barcarolles from his chants, Opp. 38a, 38b, 65, 67, and 70;Camille Saint-Saëns'sBarcarolle for violin, cello, harmonium (or organ) and piano;Béla Bartók's "Barcarolla" fromOut of Doors; Barcarolle, Op. 27, no. 1, byMoritz Moszkowski, and several examples byAnton Rubinstein,Mily Balakirev,Alexander Glazunov,Edward MacDowell,Mel Bonis,Ethelbert Nevin; and a series of thirteen for solo piano byGabriel Fauré.[3]
In the 20th century, further examples include:Agustín Barrios'sJulia Florida; the second movement ofVilla-Lobos's Trio No. 2 (1915) (which contains a Berceuse-Barcarolla); the first movement ofFrancis Poulenc'sNapoli suite for solo piano (1925);George Gershwin'sDance of the Waves (1937, unpublished);Ned Rorem's three Barcarolles for piano, composed in Morocco (1949); the Barcarolle fromGian-Carlo Menotti's balletSebastian; the first movement ofNikolai Myaskovsky's Piano Sonata no. 8, op. 83 (1949); "Hello Young Lovers" fromRichard Rodgers'The King and I (1951); "The Kings' Barcarolle" fromLeonard Bernstein'sCandide (1956); andJuan María Solare's neoclassicalBarcarola for piano (recording included in the albumSombras blancas).Dominick Argento's 25-minute choral cycleWalden Pond (1996) is subtitled "Nocturnes and Barcarolles for Mixed Chorus"; the five-movement work makes extensive use of6
8 meter. The penultimate movement ofArnold Schoenberg'sPierrot lunaire,Heimfahrt, is also labelled a barcarolle.[6]Stephen Sondheim uses a barcarolle for the two princes' song "Agony" from his 1986 musicalInto the Woods.
Bob Dylan’s song "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" from his 2020 albumRough and Rowdy Ways uses Offenbach’s "Barcarolle" as a riff.[7]
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