Montserrat Figueras, chant,
Arianna Savall, chant & harpe triple,
HESPÈRION XXI,
Jordi Savall

Anonyme Portugal (Monsanto) / Jordi Savall : José embala o menino ("Joseph berce l'enfant")
Anonyme Anglaterre (v. 1600) : My little sweet darling ("Mon doux petit chéri")
Anonyme Grèce (Aegina) : Berceuse grecque ("Dors, mon bébé")
Anonyme Sépharade (Maroc, v. 1500) : Nani, nani ("Berceuse, berceuse")
Anonyme Berbère (Maroc, Agadir) : Berceuse Amazigh
William Byrd (1543-1623) / Anglaterre : Come, pretty babe ("Viens, mon joli bébé")
Tarquinio Merula (1594-1665) / Italie : Hor ch’è tempo di dormire ("Maintenant il est temps de dormir", 1639)
Anonyme ESPAGNE (Alicante, v. 1700) / Jordi Savall : Mareta, mareta no’m faces plorar ("Ma petite maman, ne me fais pas pleurer")
Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814) / Allemagne : Dors mon enfant (1798 – Chanson d’une malheureuse mère. Imité de l’écossais)
Modeste Moussorgski (1839-1881) / Russie : Avec la poupée (La chambre des enfants, 1870 )
Anonyme Israël : Noumi, Noumi yaldati ("Endors-toi, endors-toi" – Berceuse Hebra¨que)
Arvo Pärt (né en 1935) / Russie (Estonie) : Berceuse de Noël (2002) & Kuus, kuus kalike ("Dodo" – Berceuse Estonienne, 2002 ), deux berceuses composées pour M. Figueras
Max Reger (1873-1916) / Allemagne : Maria sitzt am Rosenhag ("Marie est assise en un bosquet de rosiers" – Märia Wiegenlied, 1912)
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) / Espagne : Nana ("Dors, mon enfant, dors" – Canciones populares, 1914)
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) / France : Dors, dors (Berceuse Hébra¨que, 1925)
Federico García Lorca (1889-1936) / Espagne : Nana de Sevilla ("Berceuse de Séville" – Este galapaguito, 1930)
Anonyme Catalogne / Jordi Savall : La mare de Déu ("La Mère de Dieu" – Cançó de Bressol)

From ancient times, the lullaby has been one of the most intrinsic musical forms, present among all human communities, without exception. Its characteristic emotion and sensitivity make it the oldest expression of affection and tenderness known to music. It is like food to the young child, lulling him to placid, restoring sleep, transporting him to a dream world of peace, beauty and love.

From the moment a baby is born and during the first few years of the child’s life, lullabies are an indispensable ally to the mother in soothing her child, for whom everything in the big, wide world is new and perhaps frightening. The baby recognizes in the song his mother’s voice, her presence and her expression. The intimacy of the moment creates a space rich in ancestral symbols, in which words and music create a bond of pure emotion and truth. It is in this space that the child experiences his first dialogue, his first story, his first contact with the teachings of tradition, experience and culture, which over time build into an essential part of our collective memory.

But, above all, whoever sings a lullaby - the child’s mother, father, older brother, sister or grandmother - is moved by a desire to give of their very best, which is in itself an expression of love, and so the child begins to experience the essence of life.

This disc is dedicated to all mothers and children, especially to my own children, Arianna and Ferran, who have been an endless source of tenderness and inspiration.


Montserrat Figueras
Bellaterra, Autumn 2002