Barcarolle no. 2 op. 80

In the last quarter of the 19th century, at the height of the Second Industrial Revolution, a new society was emerging in France: the transport network developed, towns became more industrialised and the Third Republic became firmly established. In response to the relentless modernity of a world which appeared to be progressing ever more rapidly, various composers explored feelings of nostalgia in the works they were writing for the salons of high society. Created by a wealthy bourgeoisie formed by commerce and industry, this haut monde tended to emulate the elites of old: its members had aristocratic pretensions and enjoyed dreaming of a bygone golden age untouched by time where they could contemplate life, far from the hustle and bustle of the period. The barcarole was in keeping with this mood. Having entered the répertoire of salon pianists in the 1840s (Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt), it became a fashionable genre again in the 1880s: for the duration of a short piece whose ternary rhythm illustrated the motion of gondolas and the gentle lapping of the canal, a new generation of composer could revisit the romantic spirit rather than harken to the sirens of Wagnerism. Gabriel Fauré began, in 1881, a cycle of thirteen barcaroles which he completed in 1921. Published in 1884, the Deuxième Barcarolle also belonged to a series of six pieces which spanned—from opus 44 (1878) to opus 129 (1891)—Godard’s output for voice and piano, or solo piano. The initial pianissimo theme of the Barcarolle op. 80, in F minor, marked “Andantino, tranquillo”, is developed three times in succession, growing more tempestuous with each virtuoso bravura passage required of the performer.