Thanks, John and John. John K.: Strictly speaking, "The Highland Cradle Song" is only an honorary Scottish tune. It's now usually played as a solo pipe tune but Tunearch has this to say: HIGHLAND CRADLE SONG. Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time), Waltz. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Originally a waltz written in 1847 by Louis Antoine Jullien, a French bandleader and composer living in London, in honor of Olga, Grand Duchess of Russia and Crown Princess of Wurtemberg. It became immensely popular, and when Jullien died in 1860, Punch magazine wrote "...the marriages effected through his lovely 'Olga Waltz' must have occasioned a considerable effect upon the census." In the 1850's, E. Hodges of London published an abolitionist song sheet "Why Did My Master Sell Me" to be sung of the tune of "Olga Waltz," which also became very popular. William Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army, wrote religious words to the same melody. And when the London Zoo sold Jumbo the Elephant to P.T. Barnum in 1882, Punch magazine published a cartoon and a satirical song "Air - Why Did My Master Sell Me -- Jumbo's Lament." The tune appears as "Why Did My Massa Sell Me" in Kerr's Merry Melodies Vol. 3 (c. 1880's) and as "Olga Waltz" in Honeyman's Violin Tutor. Martin
During the last few weeks, probably due to the heat, I had some problems falling asleep. So I grabbed my "Cremonese" mandolin and payed myself asleep with a Welsh Lullaby: The posting of videos in the SAW group doesn't work no more for me. Do you see and hear something on the Youtube screen, or do you have to click the link? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_iop25eCuE
Lovely playing Christian, but it didn’t work. I mean the video worked and for a moment I felt sleepy (thanks) but I didn’t fall asleep. Because I nearly got struck by lightning while hiking in the hills yesterday.
This posting seems to have worked, Christian. Can see and hear it clearly. Nice playing once again.
Another Cradle song, this time composed by the late classical/early romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber: Wiegenlied Op.13 No.2
Now [I]that[I] is a lullaby. Really nicely done, Christian. Now I'm going to explore the thread (if I can stay awake).
Wunderschön!
Oh my goodness YES! I nearly drifted off to sleep myself as well. It’s that good Christian. Excellent, fine playing as usual, Señor. I might make a loop-track and have it on my iphone. This piece will be very useful. Thanks!
Lullabies seem to have a creepy angle about night and the possibility not to wake up again. It starts with the German "morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt" (meaning it's not guaranteed), goes on with that part of Enter Sandman: "Now, I lay me down to sleep (now, I lay me down to sleep) Pray the Lord my soul to keep (pray the Lord my soul to keep) If I die before I wake (if I die before I wake) Pray the Lord my soul to take (pray the Lord my soul to take) Hush, little baby, don't say a word And never mind that noise you heard It's just the beast under your bed In your closet, in your head" ...and reaches a temporary summit in Marvin's Lullaby: "Now the world has gone to bed Darkness won't engulf my head I can see by infra-red How I hate the night Now I lay me down to sleep Try to count electric sheep Sweet dream wishes you can keep How I hate the night"
I can just imagine listening to this on one of those wee music boxes, Christian - the ones with the dancer figure or other small figure rotating on the top as the tune plays. On reflection, I don't think the music box mechanism can play tremolo? A very peaceful piece and well played.
Christian, that's another lovely lullaby! I like this thread a lot.
Dennis, I like this thread too, so I ransacked my guitar repertoire for lullabies and came up with this. It's a traditional Brazilian tune apparently, but beyond that I know nothing. I have just added the mandolin line on top. (On reflection, hmmm, I wish I'd done what Bertram does and seated Guitar Richard elsewhere than Mandolin Richard. It looks a bit dumb, with these twins sitting under the same Kandinsky poster with a thick black line separating them...)
I heard a lot of great Lullabies here that are new to me. Can't wait to try a few. One of my favorites since Alison Krauss recorded it is Baby Mine from Dumbo. It is the one I sang most to my kids when they were little. My brother and I just filmed a video of our attempt for our channel.
Lovely lullaby and a fine bit of duetting, guys.
Two great new lullabies today! I feel all relaxed now.
Richard, I found the split twin image quite good. However, to correctly reproduce the environment for a Brazilian tune, you need to put pictures and posters away - most living rooms I have seen in Brazil had completely bare walls - and this would save you from the need to shift your chair, since it would look exactly the same anyway. Mr Chapman, that is one very professionally steampunked vid, just the twin Ear Trumpet mics staring at the listener like robots are a bit creepy (put two of those in a child's bedroom and it will be a busy night)
Lovely tune and fine playing, as usual, Richard. The two Richards were not a distraction at all!
Messrs Chapman, very tight work on a lovely tune - I can't help hearing Alison's gorgeous voice on tunes that I associate with her. Very professional video work too. Dennis, Bertram, John - thank you all. I have never been to Brazil, so I couldn't attempt to reproduce the environment - I can't help thinking that a Kandinsky poster makes it look like I am an undergraduate (or wish I still was). But Kandinsky was there before I made it my music room, so there he will stay. Or two Kandinskys, I suppose.
Great lullabies by Richard and The Chapmans! (Only, that I was suddenly awakened by the advertisement on the end of the second video.)
Thank you, Frithjof. YouTube can always be relied upon to kill the mood.
Richard: Isaias Savio (1900-1977) was a renowned Brazilian guitarist, composer, and teacher. This short piece, simply titled "Lullaby", is one of his most well-known compositions. Well played on both instruments! MandolinChapman: Great instrumental rendition of an elefant's Lullabye! After excursions into the world of the Renaissance and Bossa Nova, I treated myself to a waltz again to relax. It was composed by the fiddler Henry Reed, who was not a professional musician, but who probably had a certain influence on other fiddlers. It's title: Rockin' the Babies to Sleep
Christian, after so many other contributions to this discussion, you found a new lullaby as well as new matching photos. Not new is your fine playing on both instruments.
I do like this thread. Thank you, Christian, for identifying my composer and for a really genuine rock-the-baby-to-sleep lullaby. Very restful and beautifully executed, as always.
Perfect lullaby, Christian…as a lullaby should, it prompted me to close my eyes…and relax…though I stopped myself from nodding asleep…
Dream Angus is a well-known Scottish lullaby. The title character is a benign spirit who will come and bring sweet dreams and a good night's sleep.
Oh, perfect. That is so wonderfully restful, Christian.
The first few notes sound like the beginning of Mull of Kintyre, the next few notes sound like something from Amazing Grace. This distracts me, which is a shame because it's such a nice lullaby delivered with your trademark precision.
"Dreams to sell, fine dreams to sell, Angus is here with dreams to sell, So hush ye, my bairnies and sleep without fear Dream Angus will bring you a dream, my dear." I found myself singing along to your version here, Christian. Lovely delivery . I used to sing this one to my daughters when they were very young - their maternal grandfather was called Angus, so of course we identified him as the dream bringer.
This is the Bressay Lullaby, from Shetland. The words are about a fairy trying to steal a baby and guardian angels protecting it. Not very conducive to sleep, I wouldn't have thought. The arrangement is from Eric Allan's website and I simply play it straight as a mandolin trio. The pictures of sheep are from the farm in England where I used to live. If you count them you will probably fall asleep.
That bovine angle to Angus is brilliant, Christian, though I suspect that's not what George Churchill had in mind when he wrote the lyrics, and counting cows is not an established routine for falling asleep Fine chimes, Richard, as are fit for a lullaby (whereas lyrics typically are not). Let me see, how many sheep do we have? One, two, three (yawn) four .... zzzzzzz.
You really bring this arrangement to life, Richard, great sound of your mandolin played threefold! The problem with counting sheep is, the moment the next one appears, you can't be sure whether it's a new one, or whether it's one you already saw. They all look alike. Maybe that's why you fall asleep...
Thank you, Bertram and Christian. It is very quiet around here - everyone's sleeping, perhaps. I assume that the point of counting sheep, as you say Christian, is that they all look alike. But one of the things that I learned living on a sheep farm is that they don't at all (but as you can see, they still get a number sprayed on them just in case).
The next lullaby is not as peaceful as those, we heard before, it's about a bogeyman terrifying sleeping children. The Legend of Tutu Marambá Brother of the Bicho-Papão and the Boi da Cara Preta, the Tutu Marambá is an all-black creature with no discernible shape. (The word Tutu, according to Câmara Cascudo, comes from the African term quitutu, which means "ogre" or "bogeyman.") Although not as popular as the Bicho-Papão, which has become a proverbial term, the Tutu Marambá is the master of children's night terrors in Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
This is lovely, Christian, and the music doesn't really carry any echoes of the theme of the story (which seems to be a common one - see my last post above). I love this thread.
Spooky! Did you time this for Halloween?
I finally have the opportunity to participate in this discussion..."Lullaby for a polar bear cub" was composed by Evgeny Krylatov for a Russian cartoon series about a polar bear and her little bear cub Umka (the word for "polar bear" in the language of the Chukchi people of Siberia).
So appropriate that there is a tune about sleeping dedicated to a hibernatory polar bear cub! You really cover a very wide range of musical styles in your journey, Jairo and bring to us so many tunes we might not otherwise hear. Lovely playing and arrangement.
I agree with John, it's a lovely and cosy recording.
Great playing, great stereo effect, and the piano’s nice too. Where are you living at the moment Jairo? Are in a place where it’s warm in winter.
I also appreciate the range of tunes you present to us, Jairo. Sweet little tune, beautifully played.
I'd been wondering how to get the polar bears on my pond to go to sleep. What a charming tune, beautifully arranged and played, Jairo.
Really nice playing, Jairo! In his Children's Album, the Russian composer Alexander Grebenchikov published a Колыбельная, (cradle song) for piano, that I tried to arrange for mandolin/guitar.
