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

Annette had now a new incentive to work; the fisherman had once praised her voice when she hummed a barcarole on the sands, and he had insisted that there was power in its rich notes.

From The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Dunbar-Nelson, Alice Moore

Sounds of laughter and music came wafted up the stairs; she heard the voice she hated most singing a gay Italian barcarole, and now another voice joins in—her husband's.

From The Actress' Daughter A Novel by Fleming, May Agnes

He struck at first only broken chords, that became finally the haunting barcarole of Tales of Hoffmann.

From The Valiants of Virginia by Rives, Hallie Erminie