BERCEUSE

(French: lullaby), musical composition, typically of the 19th century, having the character of a lullaby. While the word appears to imply no particular formal pattern, rocking rhythms in 6/8 time are common not only in the vocal prototype but also in its stylized instrumental counterparts, usually for piano. A well-known example of the latter is Frdric Chopin's Berceuse, Opus 57, with its abundant figurations above a sequence of chords in the left hand. Prominent among subsequent composers of berceuses were Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Sans, and Maurice Ravel. An appealing instance is the Berceuse for voice, piano, and cello by the early 20th-century Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock.