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A berceuse is "a musical composition usually in 6/8 time that resembles a lullaby".[1] Otherwise it is typically in triple meter. Tonally most berceuses are simple, often merely alternating tonic and dominant harmonies; since the intended effect is to put a baby to sleep, wild chromaticism would be somewhat out of character. Another characteristic of the berceuse, for no reason other than convention, is a tendency to stay on the "flat side"; noted examples including the berceuses by Chopin, who pioneered the form,[2] Liszt, and Balakirev, which are all in D♭.
Music [link]
- Wiegenlied (Brahms), a cradle song, is a berceuse; it is better known in English as Brahms's Lullaby
- Berceuse de Jocelyn, a tender lullaby from the opera "Jocelyn" by Benjamin Godard
- Berceuse (Chopin), "cradle song" for piano, composed by Frédéric Chopin
- One of the excerpts from The Firebird Suite, a ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky
- Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré by Maurice Ravel for violin and piano
- Compositions by Ferruccio Busoni
- Berceuse (in C major) Op. 2, for piano
- Berceuse (Lullaby), for piano
- Berceuse élégiaque
- Berceuse, by Frank Bridge, is a piece for cello and piano
- Berceuse for Violin and Piano in D major, Op. 16, by Gabriel Fauré
- "Berceuse" section of Dolly Suite for Piano four-hands, Op. 56, No. 1, by Fauré. Sometimes transcribed for violin and piano; not to be confused with Fauré's Op. 16.
- Berceuse for Solo Piano in A flat Major, Op. 72, No. 2, by Tchaikovsky
- "Berceuse for the Infant Jesu" in A Little Suite for Christmas, by George Crumb
References [link]
- ^ berceuse. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved August 8, 2010, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/berceuse
- ^ Jeremy Siepmann, The Piano: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the World's Most Popular Musical Instrument (1998), p. 67.
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Berceuse (Chopin)
Frédéric Chopin's Berceuse Op. 57 (1843–44) is a lullaby to be played on piano. It consists of variations in D-flat major. At first the composer titled the work Variations, but the title was altered for publication to the current Berceuse.
It was first published by J. Meissonnier of Paris in 1844 and dedicated to Elise Gavard (1824–1900).
Structure
The music begins and ends in 6/8 time. 'Berceuse' literally means "cradle song".
References
External links
Dolly (Fauré)
The Dolly Suite, Op. 56, is a collection of pieces for piano four-hands by Gabriel Fauré. It consists of short pieces written or revised between 1893 and 1896, to mark the birthdays and other events in the life of the daughter of the composer's mistress.
An orchestral version of the suite was scored in 1906 by Henri Rabaud, and has, like the original piano duet version, received several recordings. The best-known section of the suite, the Berceuse, has been arranged for several combinations of instruments.
The suite, consisting of six short pieces, each with its own title: Berceuse, Mi-a-ou, Le jardin de Dolly, Kitty-valse, Tendresse and Le pas espagnol. The complete suite takes about fifteen minutes to perform.
Analysis
Fauré wrote or revised the pieces between 1893 and 1896, for Hélène Bardac (1892–1985), known to her family as Dolly (she was later Madame Gaston de Tinan). She was the young daughter of the singer Emma Bardac, with whom Fauré had a long-running affair. He was in the practice of sending pieces of music, in manuscript, to mark Dolly's birthdays and other family occasions.
