barcarole

American  

[bahr-kuh-rohl] / ˈbɑr kəˌroʊl /

Or barcarolle

noun

1. a boating song of the Venetian gondoliers.

2. a piece of music composed in the style of such songs.

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barcarole British  

/ ˌbɑːkəˈrəʊl, -ˌrɒl, ˈbɑːkəˌrəʊl /

noun

1. a Venetian boat song in a time of six or twelve quaver beats to the bar

2. an instrumental composition resembling this

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Etymology

Origin of barcarole

1605–15; < Venetian barcarola boatman's song, feminine of barcarolo, equivalent to barcar- (< Late Latin barcārius boatman; see bark ³, -ary) + -olo (≪ Latin -eolus )

Example Sentences

Long-held but shifting sonorities here suggest a barcarole as a voyage to the underworld.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2014

As the Sicilian men intone shocked syllables in a martial rhythm, a carefree barcarole suddenly emerges from a passing boat carrying ladies and gentlemen to the ball.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2013

Then followed a barcarole from Mme Boche and a romance from Lorilleux, in which figured perfumes of Araby, ivory throats, ebony hair, kisses, moonlight and guitars!

From L'Assommoir by Zola, Émile

I enhanced the likeness very much, last Friday morning, by singing a barcarole on the rocks.

From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856 by Hogarth, Georgina

She could warble the Venetian barcarole with all the soft accents of an Adriatic tongue, or sing the Bauerlied of the Tyrol with every cadence of the peasant's fancy.

From Davenport Dunn, Volume 1 (of 2) A Man Of Our Day by Lever, Charles James