Description
Gabriel Fauré’s Dolly Suite was written towards the end of the 19th century for piano, four hands. The suite consists of six short pieces, each marking the birthday or other family occasions of Régina-Hélène Bardac (known to her family as Dolly) – the daughter of the composer’s mistress
The best-known movement is the first, the Berceuse, which marked Dolly’s first birthday. It was famously used as the play-out music for the BBC radio programme Listen with Mother. For Dolly’s second birthday came Mi-a-ou. The title refers not to a cat but to Dolly’s attempts to pronounce the name of her elder brother Raoul. Le jardin de Dolly was composed as a New Year’s Day present in 1895. Despite more feline connotations Kitty-valse is not about a cat, but the Bardacs’ dog, Ketty. Tendresse, written in 1896, is followed up with the suite’s finale – Le pas espagnol – a lively Spanish dance very much in the style of Fauré’s friend Emmanuel Chabrier.
