Chopin’s Barcarolle: Sources of Inspiration

From left to right: Mendelssohn, Songs Without Words: Op. 19, №6 in G-minor (Jan Lisiecki); Op. 30, №6 in F sharp-minor (Daniel Barenboim); Gondola Song, A major (Franco Trabucco); Op. 62, №5 in A-minor (Barenboim)

As I look more and more deeply into Chopin’s “Barcarolle”, the work that will close out the program at my next New York concert, I am discovering lots of wonderful things that are helping to expand not only my understanding of the work, but also my interpretations.

To begin, Venice was not a city which Chopin ever visited. Instead, his barcarolle was inspired the songs sung by the gondoliers as they are sailing their boats along the canal, and also perhaps by opera barcarolles he knew from other composers like Mendelssohn. It is easy to understand Mendelssohn as a source of inspiration, particularly as I listen to his four Songs Without Words.

Please listen with me, and let me know if you can imagine the wonderful sounds of the gondolas floating gently along the water.