Come, heavy sleep
'Music and sleep have always belonged together,' writes Arno Lücker, who traces their intertwining history in this playlist, curated exclusively for IDAGIO. Sink back, relax and drift away with music from Dowland to Shostakovich.
Read more…- Dowland • Orlando Sleepeth P. 61
- Bach • Goldberg Variations (Clavier-Übung IV) BWV 988 • Aria da Capo è FineGoldberg Variations (Clavier-Übung IV) BWV 988
Aria da Capo è FineGlenn Gould (Piano)June 1955, New York City, Columbia 30th Street Studio - Bridge • Adagio ma non troppo for Organ H. 11 • Adagio
- Field • Nocturne No. 6 in F major H 40 “Cradle Song” • Andante tranquilloNocturne No. 6 in F major H 40
Andante tranquilloMíċeál O'Rourke (Piano)1988, London, St Judes Church - Humperdinck • Dornröschen, Suite • 1. PreludeDornröschen, Suite
1. PreludeMartin Fischer-Dieskau, Slovak Radio Symphony OrchestraMay 1991, Bratislava, Concert Hall of the Czecho-Slovak Radio - Anonymous (Traditional) • A dormir ahora mesmo (Murcia)A dormir ahora mesmo (Murcia)Victoria de los Angeles (Soprano), Renata Tarragó (Guitar)1950, London, Abbey Road Studios
- Schumann • Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) op. 15 • 12. Kind im EinschlummernKinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) op. 15
12. Kind im EinschlummernClara Haskil (Piano)1955 - Dowland • The First Booke of Songes or Ayres • 13. Sleep, wayward thoughtsThe First Booke of Songes or Ayres
13. Sleep, wayward thoughtsJulian Bream (Lute), Margaret Field-Hyde (Soprano), John Whitworth (Counter-tenor), René Soames (Tenor), Gordon Clinton (Baritone)1954 - 1956, Wien, Konzerthaus, Mozart-Saal - Schubert • Ländler for Piano D 366 • No. 15 in D-flat major
- Byrd • Psalms, Sonnets, and Songs of Sadness and Piety • Songs of Sadness and Piety • 32. Lullaby, My Sweet Little BabyPsalms, Sonnets, and Songs of Sadness and Piety
Songs of Sadness and Piety • 32. Lullaby, My Sweet Little BabyAlfred Deller (Counter-tenor), August Wenzinger
Gambenconsort der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis1956, London, Friends House Euston Road - Obiedov • Songs and Dances of Latin America • 1. LullabySongs and Dances of Latin America
1. LullabyOleg Timofeyev (Guitar), Dan Caraway (Guitar)2006, Solon, St Bridget's Church - Anonymous (Christmas) • Schlaf, mein Kindlein (Baiushki Baiu) • Schlaf, mein KindleinSchlaf, mein Kindlein (Baiushki Baiu)
Schlaf, mein KindleinEckhard Weyand, Collegium Instrumentale Stuttgart, Stuttgarter Hymnus-Chorknaben1988, Stuttgart, Gedächtniskirche - Tchaikovsky • Spiashchaia krasavitsa (The Sleeping Beauty) op. 66 TH 13 • Act II • No. 17 PanoramaSpiashchaia krasavitsa (The Sleeping Beauty) op. 66 TH 13
Act II • No. 17 PanoramaErnest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande1959 - Gurney • Elizabethan Songs • 4. SleepElizabethan Songs
4. SleepJames Rutherford (Bass), Eugene Asti (Piano)2008, Saxmundham, Potton Hall - Shostakovich • Hamlet, Suite from the Incidental Music op. 32a • 10. Lullaby. AndantinoHamlet, Suite from the Incidental Music op. 32a
10. Lullaby. AndantinoGennady Rozhdestvensky, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra1962, Moscow - Lindblad • Lullaby (Vaggvisa)Lullaby (Vaggvisa)Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo-soprano), Bengt Forsberg (Piano)2010, Stockholm, Nybrokajen 11
- Reimann • Schlaf wohl, du Himmelsknabe du (Instrumental version)Schlaf wohl, du Himmelsknabe du (Instrumental version)Hans-Joachim Drechsler, Schweriner Blechbläser-Collegium2007, Schwerin, Dom
- Pilkington • The First Book of Songs or Airs of 4 Parts • 6. Rest, sweet nymphs, let goulden sleepThe First Book of Songs or Airs of 4 Parts
6. Rest, sweet nymphs, let goulden sleepSir Peter Pears (Tenor), Julian Bream (Lute)1958 - Brahms • Waltzes op. 39 (Version for Solo Piano) • Waltz No. 15 in A majorWaltzes op. 39 (Version for Solo Piano)
Waltz No. 15 in A majorVladimir Horowitz (Piano)1950, New York, Town Hall - Reger • Schlummerlied WoO VII/33 • 'Schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl'Schlummerlied WoO VII/33
'Schlaf wohl, schlaf wohl'Michaela Schuster (Mezzo-soprano), Markus Schlemmer (Piano)2012, Eppan, Kultursaal Eppan - Elgar • Three Bavarian Dances op. 27a • 2. LullabyThree Bavarian Dances op. 27a
2. LullabyLawrance Collingwood, London Symphony Orchestra1954 - Carmichael • Puppet Show for Piano four hands • 4. Lullaby of the Sleeping DollPuppet Show for Piano four hands
4. Lullaby of the Sleeping DollCarles & Sofia Piano Duo
Carles Lama (Piano), Sofia Cabruja (Piano)2005, Girona, Auditori Viader - Anonymous (Traditional) • Schlafe, mein süsses Kind
- Debussy • Children's Corner L 119 (113) • 2. Jimbo's Lullaby (Berceuse des éléphants). Assez modéréChildren's Corner L 119 (113)
2. Jimbo's Lullaby (Berceuse des éléphants). Assez modéréJean-Efflam Bavouzet (Piano)2008, Dunwich, Potton Hall - Schubert • Wiegenlied (Wie sich der Äuglein kindlicher Himmel) op. 105/2 D 867 • Wie sich der Äuglein kindlicher HimmelWiegenlied (Wie sich der Äuglein kindlicher Himmel) op. 105/2 D 867
Wie sich der Äuglein kindlicher HimmelBo Skovhus (Baritone), Stefan Vladar (Piano)July 2016, Raiding, Liszthalle - Rachmaninoff • Moments Musicaux op. 16 • 5. Adagio sostenuto in D flat majorMoments Musicaux op. 16
5. Adagio sostenuto in D flat majorEkaterina Litvintseva (Piano)2014, Saarbrücken, Funkhaus Halberg - Liszt • Consolations S 172 • 3. Lento placido in D flat major
- Brahms • Lieder (Songs) op. 49 • 4. WiegenliedLieder (Songs) op. 49
4. WiegenliedMonica Groop (Mezzo-soprano), Alexei Lubimov (Piano)1997, Helsinki, Järvenpää Hall
Music and sleep have always belonged together. Even shamans in primitive, brutal prehistory are likely to have sung songs to help the insomniac drift off, to expose the sick to the healing powers of slumber.
And it will be so forever. For ever. Mothers and fathers will always sing their children to sleep. The restless will always seek solace in the calming strains of soft music, music that eases the gentle drift into the realm of slumber: to sleep, perchance to dream.
This playlist is for those who've had a hard day at work. For those who can't sleep. For all who want to sleep. For all those burdened by the travails of life. For the unwell. But, above all, for all those who believe that music can heal – or offer the comfort and consolation of those lullabies from long ago that echo in our memories.
Come, sleep!