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MP3 Merrill Leffmann - Little You - Gorgeous Artisan Lullabies
7 MP3 Songs in this album (18:39) !
Related styles: Kids/Family: Lullabies, Easy Listening: Crooners/Vocals, Solo Female Artist
People who are interested in Barbra Streisand Celine Dion Enya should consider this download.
Details:
I enjoyed creating this lullaby album in honor of my new nieces and nephews, because lullaby albums – as I see it – are liquid love. They pour love into people’s ears and lift our spirits by letting us know how thrilled the world is that we are alive. There is a need for this feeling that I don’t think we outgrow. Lullabies also sooth us by their sheer beauty, and – as I see it – their words. Finding – and creating – such songs, and bringing a personal interpretation of them into the world is a deeply rewarding endeavor.
Most are unknown songs - new or forgotten gems that shine in their settings. One song - Hushabye Mountain - is popular, but you will never have heard it as it is here: recorded with voice and cello, and phrasing that speaks to the heart.
The artist talks about the songs...
Little You
I needed one more song for my new seven-song CD, so I hosted a pajama party (and comfort food potluck), and invited guests to bring their suggestions, in addition to listening to mine. The small fragment of a new song I had started writing – Little You – was unanimously selected. I am very glad to have finished and recorded the song. I think it turned out beautifully, and it delights me to share it.
Guardian Angels
I heard this song on an old Mario Lanza Christmas LP almost twenty years ago and fell in love with it. I kept the album and transcribed the song (wrote it down in musical notation), thinking I would one day record it. That day came as a result of meeting Beth Lederman – the pianist for the song, and being blessed with new cousins who inspired another lullaby CD. Beth did a superb job of bringing out the feel, nuance and sheer beauty of this song. She is a superb musician who gave me everything I asked for and more. Incidentally, did you notice who one of the writers was? - The silent harp-playing Marx brother who made films with Groucho et al: Harpo Marx.
I Love You
This song was introduced to me over 10 years ago by the former voice student – and composer and pianist - who wrote it. Her name is Jennifer Bloomer and she has a website you can visit. Like many songs on this CD, it does not speak only to children. It speaks to all who love, from all walks of life. My husband and loves to hear it as much as my daughter. It is requested at anniversaries and tuck-ins alike.
Hush-a-bye Mountain
Though this song has been recorded by many other artists, I had such a lovely sound in my head, that I wanted to share it. But Hush-a-bye was by far the most difficult song to find an accompanist for. I wanted a string sound, and originally sought out a harpist. But after over a year and a half of trying people out, I was still looking for someone who could give me the spark and nuance I needed. Then one fateful evening I was at a little venue for acoustic musicians (The Fidder’s Dream in Glendale, AZ), and I heard the musician I needed. He was a cellist playing an entirely different style of music, but the musicianship, mastery and creative spark in this man were made to order. He was on tour from another state, but agreed to work up a cello part and record with me the next time he was in town. I explained that I was looking for a cross between the violin accompaniment for Liza Minelli’s …. And the cello music in Villa Lobos Bachiannas Brazianes #5, and sent him those music files, a scratch vocal file showing him how I was singing it, and the chords of the song. From this, Michael Rondstadt created his cello accompaniment. If you knew me, you would know it is an amazing testament to Michael’s skill and talent that I made only a few minor changes to his creation.
This song was also the most difficult to decide how to mix. I like the cello part to be an almost equal partner to the voice, but listeners said they found it too stimulating for a lullaby album. They wanted the voice pulled way out in front. I hope you enjoy the mix chosen.
Der Mond ist Aufgegangen (Abendlied)
The Moon has risen (Evening Song) - translation
This song is on the CD because (1) my husband is German, and our daughter and two of our nieces are fluent in the language, (2) I love the text, and (3) the music is so lovely. This was the hardest song to find the right sound and feel for. Usually, I know what I want, and it’s a matter of figuring out how to express it. The music shows a chord change for almost every note, and I originally tried to keep the changes. But, it made the song sound too choppy and vertical. I knew that I wanted a music box to lighten the song while the key changes took it down – a simultaneous sinking into the lightness and heaviness of relaxation and sleep. But a music box would get tiresome as the main accompaniment. Beth Lederman (the keyboardist) and I tried all manner of different sounds, and finally arrived at such a simple – and I think perfect – solution: acoustic piano with an added intermittent music box. This process required not only wonderful musicianship but also great patience on Beth’s part. Listen to the winding down of the music box at the end. This – and many other such touches in this song and others – are, to me, perfection.
Ooby Abbah Nabbah Nooh
This song has a somewhat sad story. A formerly non-musical friend of mine was hearing songs in his head and singing them as best he could into a recorder. I volunteered to help him transcribe them, and while doing so fell in love with two of them. With his permission I recorded them with the intent of including them on my first lullaby CD. But we had a falling out. The inclusion of this song is a finishing of unfinished business. I am glad listeners finally get to hear it. It was one of my favorite songs for the first CD, though the silver lining is that I ended up writing songs for The Oasis that I am quite fond of (Hush My Baby, I Like To, and The Oasis). Because Ooby was recorded so long ago, the recording sound and mix not like the others. I hope you enjoy it just as it is.
Beautiful Things
I sang an excerpt of this song in 2002 as a closing moment for a Mother’s Day Cabaret. When I decided to create a new lullaby CD, I knew Beautiful Things would be included. To lighten the feel of this minor-key song, I selected only some of its lyrics, put a capo on the guitar to give it a brighter sound, and changed the introduction to a major key. I think the result is a beautiful balance between minor-key beauty and whimsy.
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