Though this work bears a lower opus number than the Nocturne No. 1, Op. 33, it was written about six years afterward, publication of the earlier piece having been held back for eight years. While the first barcarolle is a relatively early effort, it exhibits much more of the composer's mature keyboard style—a style that constantly evolved anyway—than many other early works. That said, it is still not as harmonically adventurous as most of his piano compositions from the mid-1890s and later. It is a gentle, songful piece, quite in keeping with the Italian vocal origins associated with the barcarolle form. It opens with a lovely melancholy theme played against a caressing, swaying rhythm. While there are echoes of Chopin here and of an Italianate character, as well, this mournful melody is quite Fauré's own. The middle section features a Romantic variant mostly played in the upper register, its passion blossoming into a more ravishing, more ecstatic, more animated beauty than that of the subtle but equally attractive main theme. When the latter is reprised, it is somewhat transformed, adopting a warmer, less melancholy manner. This lovely piece typically has a duration of five or six minutes.

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