DOI: 10.36871/hon.202204063
Authors
E. V. Nosoreva
Zagir Ismagilov Ufa State Institute of Arts, Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, 450008, Russian Federation
Abstract
The Barcarola, a gondolier's song, was born in Venice, with the image of which it is inextricably
linked. It is based on the poetic parallelism of nature and man, the unity of visual impression
of the surrounding landscape and reflection on it. The identity of the city, located on the
islands of the Adriatic lagoon, determined the formation of a special acoustic space — the
"cradle" of the barcarolle.
By the XIXth century, the barcarolle had come a long way from its invariant — a Venetian
folk song — to "versions" in various types of composite music — opera and chamber vocal
works. In connection with the word and plot, its "vocabulary" was enriched and the means
of artistic expression, images and motifs were perfected. However, the barcarolle reached its
apogee in piano music of the XIXth century, where the freedom from the verbal component
and the stage action, the richness of sound-making possibilities became a kind of space for
composers to poetise the genre. But even in the instrumental barcarolle there was an evolution
— from chamber, salon and song-like miniatures, often part of cycles, to large-scale, independent,
concert works. By the late XIXth and early XXth centuries the genre had undergone
a significant transformation. This article is devoted to its peculiar interpretation in the piano
works of Gabriel Fauré, one of the outstanding composers of the time.
Keywords
Gabriel Fauré, barcarolle, genre, romanticism, symbolism
