Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
's ''Berceuse'',
Op. 57, is a
lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...
to be played on the piano. He composed it in 1843/44
as
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...
in
D-flat major
D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major.
The D-flat major scale is:
:
Its ...
. Chopin originally called his work ''Variantes''. ''Berceuse'' was first published in Paris in 1844 by
Jean-Racine Meissonnier
Jean-Racine Meissonnier (1794 – 19 August 1856), also called Meissonnier Jeune, was a French classical guitarist, musical arranger and composer, as well as an important music publisher.
Life
Born in Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelle ...
, dedicated to Élise Gavard, and appeared in London and
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
the following year.
Written late in his career, the lyrical piece features complex pianistic
figuration in the continuous flow of variations on a calm bass in always soft
dynamics, shaping the music by texture and sonority.
History
Chopin began the composition in the summer of 1843 at
Nohant
Nohant-Vic () is a commune in the Indre department in central France.
It is located near La Châtre, on the D943, approximately southeast of Châteauroux and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road.
Geography
The co ...
, where he stayed with
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
.
As the first manuscript was held by the singer
Pauline Viardot
Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer of Spanish descent.
Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms. When it is not simply "Pauli ...
, the composition may have been inspired by her little daughter, Louisette, who also spent the summer there while her mother was away giving concerts. The
theme of the ''Berceuse'' echos a song that Chopin may have heard in his childhood, "Już miesiąć zeszedł, psy się uśpily" (The moon now has risen, the dogs are asleep).
Chopin completed ''Berceuse'' in 1844, shortly before his
Piano Sonata in B minor. It is a series of 16
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...
on an
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
ground bass.
In an early sketch of the composition, the "variantes" were even assigned numbers. Chopin first began the work with the theme but wrote two measures of introduction later.
At first the composer titled the work ''Variantes'', but the title was altered for publication to the current ''Berceuse'', "
berceuse" literally meaning "Cradle song".
It was first published by
Jean-Racine Meissonnier
Jean-Racine Meissonnier (1794 – 19 August 1856), also called Meissonnier Jeune, was a French classical guitarist, musical arranger and composer, as well as an important music publisher.
Life
Born in Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelle ...
of Paris in 1844 and was dedicated to Élise Gavard (1824–1900), saying on the title page: "Berceuse / pour le piano / dédié à / Mademoiselle Élise Gavard / par / F. CHOPIN."
The first publication in England was by
Wessel & Co. in London on 22 June 1845, and the first publication in Germany was by
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf.
The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...
in Leipzig in July 1845.
Structure and music
Chopin composed the work as a series of 16 short variations on an ostinato ground bass.
He first began the work with the theme but wrote two measures of introduction later.
The music begins and ends in 6/8
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
. The variations of four measures are not divided by rests, but form a steady flow.
Several variations show highly independent ornamental lines in complex rapid filigree, contrasting with the stable bass. The
dynamics stay low throughout the piece. Sonority and texture shape the music, which the musicologist Jim Samson describes as a "sense of departure and return".
He notes that
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
was interested in this aspect of Chopin's music.
Only once, shortly before the end, does the bass change.
Zdzisław Jachimecki described the composition as follows:
Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger (born 9 March 1940) is a Swiss musicologist. He became known through his activities as a juror and publications on Chopin.
Life
Born in Neuchâtel, Eigeldinger studied at the University of Neuchâtel, the Sorbonne and t ...
sees the ''Berceuse'' as a "late lyrical piece", together with the
Barcarolle
A barcarolle (; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from ''barca'' 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the mo ...
, Op. 60, and the
Nocturne, Op. 62, No. 1, all of them full of "pianistic figurations" reminiscent of his early "brilliant" style. Eigeldinger has suggested that Chopin's style in these pieces "approaches that of musical symbolism/impressionism".
Literature
* Paul L. Mergier-Bourdeix (ed.), ''Jules Janin. 735 lettres à sa femme'', Vol. 1, Paris: Klincksieck, 1973
*
Krystyna Kobylańska Krystyna Kobylańska (6 August 1925 in Brześć, Poland – 30 January 2009 in Milanówek, Poland) was a Polish musicologist, and former Curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Society Museum in Warsaw.
In 1977 (revised and translated to German in 1979), ...
, ''Frédéric Chopin. Thematisch-Bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis'', Munich 1979, pp. 123–125
References
External links
AutographFrench National Library
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
*
Analysis of Berceuse Op.57a
Chopin: the poet of the piano* Thierry Vagne
Chopin Lullaby – Compared Listeningvagnethierry.fr 10 January 2016
{{italic title
Compositions by Frédéric Chopin
Compositions for solo piano
1844 compositions
Compositions in D-flat major