berceuse

A berceuse is "a musical composition usually in 6/8 time that resembles a lullaby". 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, Liszt, and Balakirev, which are all in D♭.

Examples of Such Music

• 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
• Berceuse de Jupiter, also known as the aria "Que Les Songes Heureux" from the opera "Philémon et Baucis", by Charles Gounod
• 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
• Grieg Lyric Pieces Op. 38 No. 1
• Berceuse Heroique, for piano, by Claude Debussy
• Berceuse for an Unwanted Child (Reginald Foresythe) 1934