Igor Stravinsky

Berceuses du chat, K022 (Russian: Колыбельные, Kolibelniye, English: (Cat) Lullabies) by

Igor Stravinsky is a 1915 cycle of four songs for a medium voice, usually a contralto, and
three clarinetists. The work is usually referred to by its French title. Although it is often sung
in Russian, Stravinsky assisted his friend, the Swiss author C. F. Ramuz, to make a translation
into French at the time of publication. The cycle is set for contralto and three clarinettists: E♭
clarinet; A clarinet (normally played by a B♭ clarinet), and a B♭ bass clarinet.[1]

Songs

The titles of the four songs are:

I. "Cпи котъ" (Spi kot) / "Dors sur le poêle" ([Cat] Sleeps on the stove)
II. "Котъ на печи" (Kot na pechi) / "Intérieur" (Cat on the stove)
III. "Бай-Бай" (Bay-Bay) / "Dodo" (Cradle song)
IV. "У кота, кота" (U kota, kota) / "Ce qi'il a, le chat" (O cat, cat)

The French titles for songs 2 to 4 are not translations; nos 2 and 3 are poetic titles, no. 4 is the
French incipit. The cat is a male cat – кот, not кошка (koshka).

History
The Berceuses du chat were composed in 1915/16 while Stravinsky was living in Clarens, Switzerland,
during World War I.[2] They are based on Russian folk songs found in the collection of Russian
folklorist Pyotr Kireevsky. Stravinsky had purchased the volume in Kiev during his last trip to Kiev in
July 1914, just before the outbreak of the war. Helmut Kirchmeyer states that the texts are based on
Russian folksongs, but the melodies are Stravinsky's.