A berceuse is "a musical composition usually in

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

that resembles 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 ...

". 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 inappropriate. 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,Jeremy Siepmann, ''The Piano: The Complete Illustrated Guide to the World's Most Popular Musical Instrument'' (1998), p. 67.

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, and Balakirev, which are all in D.

Music

* Berceuse pour deux notes qui cornent (for two notes which continue), for organ, JA 7, by

Jehan Alain Jehan-Aristide Paul Alain (; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and compo ...

* Wiegenlied (Brahms), a cradle song, is a berceuse; it is better known in English as

Brahms's Lullaby "" ("Lullaby"; "Cradle Song"), Op. 49, No. 4, is a lied for voice and piano by Johannes Brahms which was first published in 1868. It is one of the composer's most popular pieces. History Brahms based the music of his "Wiegenlied" par ...

* Berceuse, by

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845-1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a m ...

, for cello and piano * Compositions by Ferruccio Busoni ** Berceuse (in C major) Op. 2, for piano ** Berceuse (Lullaby), for piano **'' Berceuse élégiaque'' * ''Berceuse'', for piano by Frédéric Chopin * "Berceuse for the Infant Jesu" in A Little Suite for Christmas, by George Crumb * Berceuse Heroique, for piano, by Claude Debussy *Two compositions by Gabriel Fauré ** ''Berceuse'', Op. 16. ** "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 the Op. 16 work, above. * Berceuse for an Unwanted Child (Reginald Foresythe) 1934 * Berceuse de Jocelyn, a lullaby from the opera " Jocelyn" by Benjamin Godard * Berceuse de Jupiter, also known as the aria "Que Les Songes Heureux" from the opera " Philémon et Baucis", by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

* Grieg Lyric Pieces Op. 38 No. 1 * "Berceuse" from ''114 Songs'' (1922) by Charles Ives * Berceuse by

Armas Järnefelt Edvard Armas Järnefelt (14 August 1869 – 23 June 1958), was a Finnish conductor and composer, who achieved some minor success with his orchestral works ''Berceuse'' and ''Praeludium''. He spent much of his conducting career at the Royal Sw ...

1904 * "Berceuse" from 12 Transcendental Études by

Sergei Lyapunov Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov (or Liapunov; russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Ляпуно́в, ; 8 November 1924) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. Life Lyapunov was born in Yaroslavl in 1859. After the death of his fath ...

* '' Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré'' by Maurice Ravel for violin and piano * "Berceuse" in ''Six pieces for violin and piano'', Op 79, No. 6, by

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

* One of the excerpts from

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...

, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky * Berceuse for Solo Piano in A flat Major, Op. 72, No. 2, by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

* Berceuse (sur les paroles classiques), from 24 Pieces in Free Style, for organ, by

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

* Berceuse for Mallory, a big band jazz composition by Steve Spiegl * French online radio station titled berceuses.com with lullabies for children

Art

* ''La Berceuse'', a series of paintings by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

References

{{reflist Musical forms Lullabies