Lullabies

About

Lullabies was commissioned by The Auckland Choral Society for their 2015 season, and first performed June 6, in The Holy Trinity Cathedral, with funding from Creative NZ. It is a cycle of six songs, to be performed without a break, to poems by Elena Poletti, a Dunedin-based poet.

Lullabies are common to all cultures, and are richly varied in their themes and moods. These six lullabies traverse different perspectives, both adult and child. Shush-a-shush has a parent calming her child to sleep through images of the sea and beach. In Little One it is gentle rain than lulls the child to sleep. Sounds of Penguins makes a comparison between little blue penguins under a house, and children busily preparing for bed. The moonlight, wind, waves and lighthouse all conspire to finally calm them down. In The Nightsingers it is the sounds of tree-frogs, ruru (morepork), and cats that accompany the lullaby; they are presented one by one and then are combined in the coda. Beddington is a frisky lullaby for children to sing, and including a round and a Monster-Munch-Up chant. The final song Hope of my heart reflects on a child’s future, and remembers the passing of a sister and child (represented in the song by the childrens’ voices as echoes). All the forces come together in this song, to round off the cycle.

1. Shush-a-shush – main choir
2. Little One – solo soprano
3. Sounds of penguins – childrens’ choir, main choir and soprano
4. The Nightsingers – soprano and main choir
5. Beddington – children’s choir
6. Hope of my heart - childrens’ choir, main choir and soprano