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While a certain ice-cream jingle may have become synonymous with Venice\u2019s gondola-strewn waterways (for a particular generation, at least), it is barcarolles (or barcaroles) that are the original folk songs of the Venetian boatmen, and would have been heard regularly along the course of the city\u2019s canals.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Characterised by a gentle \u2018rocking\u2019 rhythm (reminiscent of the motion of a boat on water) traditional barcarolles have influenced a range of classical composers, and the term now relates to the original songs as well as other pieces of music inspired by the style, mainly from the 18th<\/sup> and 19th<\/sup> centuries.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Brahms<\/a><\/strong>, Chopin,<\/a> Mendelssohn<\/a><\/strong>, Rossini<\/a><\/strong>, Verdi<\/a><\/strong>, Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong>, Shubert<\/a><\/strong> and Strauss<\/a> <\/strong>are among the composers who have taken barcarolles as their inspiration.<\/p>\n The term can be applied to instrumental and vocal pieces of music, and perhaps one of the most well-known barcarolles is Jacques Offenbach\u2019s Belle Nuit, \u00f4 Nuit d\u2019Amour, from the opera The Tales of Hoffman.<\/p>\nExamples of barcarolles<\/strong><\/h2>\n