This section is from "The Encyclopaedia Britannica". Also available from Amazon: Great Books of the Western World (60 Volumes).
Barcarole, Or Barcarolle (Ital. barcaruola, a boat-song) properly a musical term for the songs sung by the Venetian gondoliers, and hence for an instrumental or vocal composition, generally in 6-8 time, written in imitation of their characteristic rhythm.
 
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