String Orchestra - Level 3 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1431353

By Keith Terrett. By Gabriel Faure. Arranged by Keith Terrett. 20th Century,Children,Classical,Contest,Festival,Romantic Period. 12 pages. Keith Terrett #1011823. Published by Keith Terrett (A0.1431353).

The Dolly Suite, Op. 56, is a collection of pieces for piano duet by Gabriel Fauré. It consists of six short pieces written or revised between 1893 and 1896, to mark the birthdays and other events in the life of the daughter of the composer's mistress, Emma Bardac.

An orchestral version of the suite was scored in 1906 by Henri Rabaud, and has, like the original piano duet version, been the subject of many recordings. The best-known section of the suite, the Berceuse, has been arranged for several combinations of instruments. In the United Kingdom it became famous as the play-out tune to the BBC radio programme Listen with Mother.

The suite consists of six short pieces, each with its own title: Berceuse, Mi-a-ou, Le jardin de Dolly, Kitty-valse, Tendresse, and Le pas espagnol. The complete suite takes about fifteen minutes to perform.

The Berceuse was the closing theme for the long-running BBC Light Programme (and later Home Service) radio programme for small children Listen with Mother (1950–1982). It is performed in the film Bicentennial Man by Andrew and Little Miss. Although it was written as a piano duet, there have been numerous arrangements of the Berceuse for other instruments and ensembles. Examples include versions for piano and glockenspiel by Evelyn Glennie and for two guitars recorded by Julian Bream and John Williams.