Early years
The importance of lullabies By Laura Jane Foley Lullabies have been around for thousands of years. Musicologists believe the first lullabies were sung over 5000 years ago by the Babylonians. The fact that we’re still singing them today shows they certainly have longevity. Generations of parents have known that singing a lullaby to an infant has a lulling, calming effect. Across all times and languages, lullabies have the same soothing, hypnotic qualities. These are created by the use of repeated, simple one or two syllable words and repeating musical phrases which are easy to predict. Lullabies are necessarily easy to learn and sing. Infants need to recognise the familiar patterns of notes and words and parents need to be able to sing them without having any musical education or training. Traditionally lullabies were passed on through the generations from parent to child. Popular lullabies have stuck in the nation’s conscience due to the advent of recording, television and radio but there are hundreds of unknown lullabies which are just as beautiful and effective. However, recent research has uncovered that only 38% of parents sing to their child every day. Yet singing to your baby is just as important as reading to them. A singing voice has a greater calming effect than speech so singing has positive health and emotional benefits not to mention the numerous studies which show that listening to music improves children’s intelligence.
Here is my top 5 list of lullabies to get you started: Brahms’s Lullaby Whether you know it was composed by Johannes Brahms or not, this is the tune you’ll hum if someone asks you to sing a lullaby. Composed in 1868 it is the most famous and recognisable lullaby in the world thanks, in part, to highly successful recordings by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Originally written with German words (‘Guten Abend, Gut’ Nacht’) there are several English translations.
Cradle Song by William Byrd I discovered this sweet Renaissance lullaby in an obscure out of print music book. I then spent several weeks tracking down the words for the missing second verse. The words are completely charming; it begins “my sweet, little darling, my comfort and joy”. It’s a fairly short lullaby and has a beautiful melody. I think it deserves to be much better known.
Taylor Coleridge: “Sleep sweet babe! My cares beguiling, Mother sits beside thee smiling”. You can find recordings of all the above lullabies on YouTube. Laura-Jane Foley has also recorded lesser-known lullabies, classical songs and readings for her new album Songs For My Daughter released by the Lullaby Trust and available from Amazon or iTunes price £10.95.
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Dalmatian Cradle Song This traditional lullaby was originally a peasant’s song from Dalmatia (a region in Croatia). Its lilting melody is hauntingly beautiful. This lullaby tells a simple story about a father being away at sea. The chorus begins “Hush, my babe, my little one” and the “hush” sounds like the crashing waves of the sea. It’s calming and melodic.
Day Nursery & Pre-School
Cradle Song or ‘Wiegenlied’ by Franz Schubert This simple lullaby uses few notes and echoes the rocking motion of lulling a baby to sleep. It was made famous by the superstar Italian Tenor Luciano Pavarotti who regularly sang it at his concerts. Originally written in German, several English translations are available which include these pretty lyrics: “slumber, slumber, in sweet dreams reposing.”
A Cradle Song by Ralph Vaughan Williams This beautiful lullaby is more interesting musically than the Schubert song. It has no repetition and has a range of well over an octave which is unusual as most lullabies use the same notes repeated in a limited range. The beautiful soaring melody by this twentieth century composer is complemented by the words of Romantic poet Samuel familiesonline.co.uk
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