Dolly Suite Opus 36

Gabriel Fauré

Berceuse; Mi-a-ou; Le Jardin de Dolly; Kitty Valse

Tendresse; Le Pas Espagnol

This suite was composed between 1893 and 1896 and owes its title to Dolly Bardac, who was the daughter of Debussy's future wife, Madame Emma Bardac.  Dolly was a charming and delightful little girls, with blonde hair.  Fauré created perfectly the image of her feminine precocity and and innocence in this work.

The famous "Berceuse" opens the work and is followed by

the lively "Mi-a-ou" which is not a description of a favourite cat, as one might suppose, but relates to Dolly's brother, Raoul Bardac, whom she nicknamed "Mi-a-ou".  "Le Jardin de Dolly" exploits the subtler tone colours of the keyboard to portray the ideal garden and Kitty Valse illustrates the playful leaps of a favourite dog called Kitty!  Following this, there is a gentle "Tendresse" which depicts Emma Bardac's feelings for her little daughter and finally, to conclude the set, "Le Pas Espagnol" which was inspired by the bronze equestrian statue of Fremiet, Fauré's father-in-law, which stood on a mantelpiece in Madame Bardac's house and was much admired by the young Dolly.

© Claire and Antoinette Cann 1996