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New Lullaby: Fourteen enchanting ways to fall asleep
Aaron Larget-Caplan (guitar)
rec. October 2009, Roslindale, Massachusetts, USA
STONE RECORDS 5060192781090  [52:46]

This CD, the first of three that form the “New Lullaby Project”, presents lullabies for adults. As Larget-Caplan states in his liner notes “I don’t have kids”.

In 2006 he started requesting compositions for this project before he suffered two major traumas. Firstly, he lost his house in a fire. Secondly, only two months later, his wife sustained major injuries in an accident. He refers to the irony that he himself needed so much sleep after twelve house-moves in over two and a half years. The fourteen lullabies were performed at three locations in 2009, shortly before this recording. He states that they “Calm the mind, take us to a new place and leave our ears with the gift of sound as we travel through the realm of our realities. Let us be enveloped by the living music of our world and take comfort that we live amongst it.”

I listened to the disc and treated it as a whole concept. The various compositions work fluently and the sequence has been well thought out. There are notes on each piece by the composers; in a live setting I presume that Larget-Caplan would explain the pieces. I was particularly taken with “Berceuse” by David Vayo where Aaron (I presume) whistles and hums. It would certainly be appropriate for young children. Not all the lullabies are “night music”. Carson Cooman contributes “unfolding the gates of dawn”: a morning lullaby. My son, listening to the CD with me, pointed out the hint of the Beatles’ “In no time” by Jonathan Feist. The “Fab Four” clearly influence some of the other compositions as does “Cavatina”. That said, the composers are to be congratulated for composing music of intrinsically high quality.

This album certainly engenders feeling of peace which, given the personal circumstances of the performer when he was planning the project, is apt. There are times when this disc will be appropriate and I found it achieved its aim of producing a state of peacefulness. I look forward to hearing the next two CDs in this project.
 
David R Dunsmore


Contents
1. The Sixth Night - Lynn JOB [3:39]
2. Leaky Roof - Jonathan FEIST [1:27]
3. No Time - Jonathan FEIST [2:22]
4. My Darling’s Slumber - Francine TRESTER [3:07]
5. Nachtlied - Scott WHEELER [4:19]
6. Cradle Song - Kevin SIEGFRIED [3:19]
7. Descent to a Dream - Mark SMALL [4:32]
8. Lulla - for Sam - Nolan STOLZ [3:20]
9. Unfolding the Gates of Dawn - Carson COOMAN [3:53]
10. You are Alone to Sleep, Op.430 - John McDONALD [2:46]
11. Berceuse - David VAYO [7:01]
12. Disturbed, a Lulla - David LEISNER [4:32]
13. Song Softly Sung, in Trying Times - Eric SCHWARTZ [3:50]
14. Shhh - Ryan VIGIL [5:22]