The Flower Duet (Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs... Sous le dôme épais) by Delibes (1836-1891) has been on many TV advertisements and used extensively in the media. The most popular and well-known use is the British Airways adverts from 1989 onwards. The piece by the French composer is from the opera Lakmé which is based on the French novel 'Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti' (The Marriage of Loti) by Pierre Loti. It describes Loti's romantic liaison with an exotic Tahitian girl named Rarahu. Delibes wrote the score during 1881-82. Like other French operas of the period, Lakmé captures the ambience of the Orient that was in vogue during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Flower Duet is actually a Barcarolle. A barcarolle (from French; also Italian barcarola, barcarole) is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, the three most famous barcarolles are those by Jacques Offenbach, from his opera The Tales of Hoffmann, Frédéric Chopin's Barcarolle in F sharp major for solo piano, and guitarist Agustin Barrios's Julia Florida. A barcarolle is characterized by a rhythm reminiscent of the gondolier's stroke, almost invariably a moderate tempo 6/8 meter (as it is in the Flower Duet). While the most famous barcarolles are from the Romantic period, the genre was well-enough known in the 18th century. It was a popular form in opera, where the apparently artless sentimental style of the folk-like song could be put to good use. This piece is mainly in thirds for piano, you play two notes a third apart and go up and down the scale. This gives the feel of a duet re-produced on the piano. This piece should be played delicately and gently, like oriental flowers gently swaying in the breeze.
