Customer Reviews

Lullabies-A Songbook Companion

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this solely because I have the book and wanted to sing the lullabies to my kids, but I can't read music. For this purpose it is fine. The songs are not in the same order as in the book but I can deal. As a stand-alone lullaby CD I wouldn't really recommend it--the songs are not sung in a soothing manner, there's lots of variety in tempo and volume, some are even sung up-beat. The voices are not pitched high enough for babies either. That being said, I am back on Amazon today to buy it for my sister who is due any day now with her 3rd kid--we both like to sing and have the book, and songs (in book or music form) are a great present that the baby won't grow out of for a long time, and helps you bond with your little one too.

He's six weeks old and fussy. I put this lovely album on and I listen with great pleasure while he sleeps very soundly. I think this is a terrific album and a great baby shower gift.

I bought the book first, but I can't read music very well, so this CD really helped to bring it all together. My main interest was in learning the lullabies so that I could sing them to my daughter. I think that the book and the CD have helped me enormously. The music on the CD is simple and quiet. The main singer is very very good and sings with a bit of an operatic style. The other singer is not as great (I think that she's actually the daughter of the pianist), but she can carry a tune. My only complaint is that a lot of the songs were not researched well enough and there are lots of technical errors in titles (Baby's Bed instead of Slumber Boat), lyrics, and score... I guess you can just call it artist's liberty. For my own purposes, this is an important flaw. If you are just looking for some nice music, it's probably not as important to you. I highly recommend the music book (to which this CD is a companion) as well; it's full of lovely art.

This is a very soothing collection. Wonderful for the newborn months and long after--I use it now for the perfect backdrop for my toddler when we are getting ready for bed at night. A great gift for others too!

I bought this cd to go with the book and it is very frustrating because the songs on this cd are not even in the same order as the book. The singing voice fluctuates too much, it will be really soft and then it gets really high pitch. And if you have the volume set at a lower level for some songs then you can't hear other songs. I think there are better cds to buy than this one.

I used this lullaby album to quiet my 92-year-old Mother as she was dying. Now it, with its companion book filled with marvelous art, is one my favorite gifts to parents of newborns!

Andrew Bartlett's review is exactly right. The arrangements are spare, perfectly suited to the songs. The vocals and accompaniments are lovely and very moving. I would love to see another collaboration of these artists; imagine similar arrangements applied to traditional American songs. Highly recommended!

With just piano, violin and vocals, this is a simple and heartfelt album. Ms. Baird's voice conveys the full emotions that a mother feels for her new baby with clean and open singing. The first track in particular, "All Through The Night," still makes me teary. I played this in the hospital when my son was born, and we use it as part of our wind-down ritual. I do agree that some of the songs are a little upbeat for bedtime. We just skip those in the evening (using iTunes).

Our whole family loves this cd. I am continually charmed and refreshed by the subtlety, taste and musicianship that has gone into these arrangements of well- and lesser-known gems. Apart from the joy of the simple yet perfect chordal progressions, listen to the warm, caressing tone imparted by the low bass notes in the piano in many of the tracks. The pace is so wonderfully leisurely, there is time to savour each song or piece, and yet each lasts only two or three minutes. The three diverse yet complementary singers, each with a tender and gentle presence suiting the subject matter, give a sense of a 19th century family musical evening. Magical.

This is our family's favorite music CD for a baby. Julianne Baird sings these traditional lullabies so sensitively and beautifully. She sings with the depth of interpretation of a classical singer but also with a warm simplicity and little vibrato. The book is a treasure (I agree with others that it would be helpful to have the lullabies in the same order as the CD, but there is a table of contents and an index), and if you can play the piano a little, the arrangements are simple and lovely. Listening to the whole CD is like listening to a wonderful concert. Babies and children do not need music to be all high and dinky and the same; this is real music, performed to perfection with motherly warmth. Don't miss it!