Mendelssohn’s “Venetian Gondola Song,” Op. 30, No. 6: Daniel Barenboim

Felix Mendelssohn’s Venetian Gondola Song, Op. 30, No. 6 for solo piano evokes a dreamy, nocturnal Venetian scene.

A quiet, longing melody emerges over a barcarolle rhythm. It suggests gently lapping water, and the hypnotic repetition of the gondolier’s oar. The brief work is set in melancholy F-sharp minor. Its final notes fade suddenly into the night. Composed in 1835, it concludes Book II of Mendelssohn’s collection of Songs Without Words.

This recording features Daniel Barenboim:

People often complain that music is too ambiguous. With me, it is the exact opposite… The thoughts which are expressed to me by music that I love are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite.

-Felix Mendelssohn

Recordings

• Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte II, Op. 30: VI. Venetian Gondola Song. Allegretto, MWV U 110, Daniel Barenboim Amazon 

Featured Image: “A Gondola on the Lagoon near Mestre” (1785), Francesco Guardi