Violin Lullabies Rachel Barton Pine & Matthew Hagle

• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897):
• 15 Lieder, Op. 49: No. 4, Wiegenlied (Arr. A. Spalding)02:20
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931):
• 2Rêve d'enfant, Op. 1403:49
• Vladimir Rebikov (1866–1920):
• 33 Morceaux, Op. 7: No. 1, Berceuse01:44
• Amy Beach (1867–1944):
• 43 Compositions, Op. 40: No. 2, Berceuse03:44
• Ludwig Schwab (1880–1943):
• 5Berceuse écossaise03:54
• Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936):
• 66 Pezzi, P. 31: No. 1, Berceuse03:30
• George Gershwin (1898–1937):
• 7Porgy and Bess: Summertime (Arr. I. Frolov)03:45
• Manuel de Falla (1876–1946):
• 87 Canciones Populares Españolas: No. 5, Nana (Arr. P. Kochanski)02:06
• Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924):
• 9Berceuse, Op. 16 (Version for Violin & Piano)03:45
• Jean Sibelius (1865–1957):
• 106 Pieces, Op. 79: No. 6, Berceuse02:25
• Pauline Viardot-García (1821–1910):
• 116 Morceaux: No. 3, Berceuse02:34
• Alan Hovhaness (1911–2000):
• 12Oror, Op. 102:38
• Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971):
• 13The Firebird: No. 17, Berceuse (Arr. for Violin & Piano)02:55
• Maurice Ravel (1875–1937):
• 14Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré, M. 7402:25
• Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979):
• 15Lullaby (1909 Version)03:00
• Franz Schubert (1797–1828):
• 16Wiegenlied, Op. 98 No. 2, D. 498 (Arr. M. Elman)02:15
• Robert Schumann (1810–1856):
• 17Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 16, Schlummerlied (Arr. H. Sitt)03:38
• Lucien Durosoir (1878–1955):
• 185 Aquarelles: No. 4, Berceuse02:52
• Edvard Grieg (1843–1907):
• 19Lyric Pieces, Book 2, Op. 38: No. 1, Berceuse (Arr. H. Sitt)02:28
• Mikhail Antsev (1865–1945):
• 204 Pieces: No. 1, Berceuse03:05
• Richard Strauss (1864–1949):
• 215 Lieder, Op. 41, TrV 195: No. 1, Wiegenlied (Arr. for Violin & Piano)03:43
• Camillo Sivori (1815–1894):
• 22Dors mon enfant!, Op. 30 (Version for Violin & Piano)03:59
• Victor Béraud (1840–?):
• 23Petite reine berceuse03:30
• William Grant Still (1895–1978):
• 24Suite for Violin & Piano: No. 2, Mother & Child06:18
• Max Reger (1873–1916):
• 253 Pieces, Op. 79d: No. 1, Wiegenlied01:34
• Alexander Ilyinsky (1859–1920):
• 26Noure et Anitra, Op. 13: No. 7, Berceuse (Arr. A. Moffat for Violin & Piano)01:48
• Xavier Montsalvatge (1912–2002):
• 27Lullaby (Nana)02:31
• Betty Jackson King (1928–1994):
• 28Lullaby (Arr. for Violin & Piano)02:41
• Total Runtime01:24:56

Info for Violin Lullabies

Classical lullabies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as those on Violin Lullabies, were inspired by traditional songs that mothers sang to lull their infants to sleep. Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and pianist Matthew Hagle perform 25 classical cradle songs for violin, including works by Johannes Brahms, George Gershwin, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Fauré, Richard Strauss, and Maurice Ravel, on Violin Lullabies (Cedille Records CDR 90000 139). As compositionally sophisticated as longer works by the same composers, these brief, beautiful pieces are equally suited to classical connoisseurs as well as to music novices of all ages.

“While the birth of my first child inspired this album, the idea of deeply exploring the lullaby as a genre has fascinated me for some time. These are beautiful concert pieces which allowed me to express the love that fills my heart each day that I spend with my precious baby,” says Pine in her personal note in the CD booklet.

Pine and her husband Greg’s first child, Sylvia Michelle Pine, was born in September 2011. By age one, Sylvia had accompanied her mother on tour to 20 U.S. states, three Canadian Provinces, and six countries. The Gershwin, Brahms, and Schubert lullabies were some of the first pieces that Pine and her husband sang to Sylvia.

Violin Lullabies includes cherished music-box treasures such as Johannes Brahms’s Wiegenlied (Cradle Song), No. 4 from Fünf Lieder, Op. 49, often referred to as “Brahms’s Lullaby”; George Gershwin’s “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess; Gabriel Fauré’s Berceuse (Lullaby), Op. 16; Igor Stravinsky’s Berceuse from The Firebird; Maurice Ravel’s Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré (Lullaby on the name “Gabriel Fauré”); and Franz Schubert’s Wiegenlied, D 498 / Op. 98, No. 2. Listeners will also discover gems by lesser-known composers such as Pauline Viardot-Garcia, Lucien Durosoir, and Victor Béraud.

Five of the lullabies receive world-premiere recordings: Vladimir Rebikov’s Berceuse, No. 1 from Trois Morceaux, Op. 7; Ludwig Schwab’s Berceuse écossaise (Scottish Lullaby); Mikhail Antsev’s Berceuse, No. 1 from Four Pieces; Richard Strauss’s violin and piano version of his Wiegenlied, No. 1 from Fünf Lieder, Op. 41; and Camillo Sivori’s Berceuse, Op. 30.

Classical lullabies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as those on Violin Lullabies, were inspired by traditional songs that mothers sang to lull their infants to sleep. They are concert works meant to evoke the warmth of familial love and fond childhood memories.

The CD track listing reveals many names for the lullaby: “berceuse” in French, “wiegenlied” or “schlummerlied” in German, “nana” in Spanish,” “oror” in Armenian, and “vuggevise” in Norwegian. Most of the lullabies on the CD were originally written for violin and piano. Others started out as songs or piano pieces and were transcribed and arranged by their composers or prominent violinists of the past. “Quite a few violinists have recorded collections of Romances by various composers. To my knowledge, no violinist has made an album comprised entirely of Berceuses,” says Pine.

Nobody, it seems, had ever cataloged this body of work. Pine could find no recordings devoted to classical violin lullabies and no compilations of scores. She set about collecting sheet music from libraries in the U.S. and overseas, eventually accumulating more than 150 scores from the late 1800’s onwards. She then made demo recordings for evaluation purposes. “A high percentage of these works were of good quality,” Pine says. These include lullabies by obscure composers that proved to be “gorgeous little pieces and very touching,” she adds.

Together with Cedille Records founder, president, and producer James Ginsburg, Pine and pianist Hagle selected lullabies to record for the album, taking into account artistic merit, musical variety, and program length, Pine explained.

Complimenting the CD are liner notes by Pamela Blevins, co-founder and editor of Signature, Women in Music magazine, published by The Maud Powell Society. In addition to discussing the history of lullabies and the specific works on the CD, Blevins also sheds light on the composers’ family lives and romantic interests.

Pine plays her 1742 “ex-Soldat” Guarneri Del Gesu violin, the instrument Brahms himself chose for his protégé, Marie Soldat, the first woman to perform Brahms’s Violin Concerto. For half of the selections Pine employs mutes, devices affixed to the bridge of the violin to soften the sound. Ultimately she used three different mutes, each with its own aural personality. In the CD-booklet, she describes these effects as “warm,” “delicate,” and “mysterious.”

Violin Lullabies was produced by Cedille’s Ginsburg and engineered by Bill Maylone at sessions October 26, 28, and 29, 2012, in the Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio of radio station WFMT, Chicago.

“What a beautiful recording this is!”... “Pine and Hagle play each [piece] idiomatically with great attention to detail and the ultimate in musical values. This is a truly beautiful disc and I think it will have great appeal to our readers." (Maria Nockin, Fanfare Magazine)

Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Matthew Hagle, piano

Rachel Barton Pine
In both art and life, violinist Rachel Barton Pine has an extraordinary ability to connect with people. Celebrated as a leading interpreter of classical works, her performances combine her innate gift for emotional communication and her scholarly fascination with historical research. She plays with passion and conviction across an extensive repertoire. Audiences are thrilled by her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and infectious joy in music-making.

Pine has appeared as a soloist with many of the world's most prestigious ensembles including the Chicago, Montreal, Vienna, and Baltimore Symphonies; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Philharmonic, the Mozarteum, Scottish, and Israel Chamber Orchestras; and the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie. She has worked with such renowned conductors as Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Neeme Järvi, John Nelson, Marin Alsop, and Placido Domingo.

Her festival appearances have included Marlboro, Ravinia, and Salzburg. Her recital performances have included the complete Paganini Caprices, all six Bach Sonatas and Partitas, Beethoven's complete works for violin and piano, and the world premiere of the last movement of Samuel Barber's long-lost 1928 Violin Sonata. She regularly plays and records with John Mark Rozendaal and David Schrader as the period instrument ensemble Trio Settecento.

Pine writes her own cadenzas to many of the works she performs, including concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Paganini. She is the first living composer to be published as part of Carl Fischer's 'Masters Collection' with the release of The Rachel Barton Pine Collection, including original compositions, arrangements, cadenzas, and editions penned or arranged by Pine. Pine is also music advisor and editor of 'Maud Powell Favorites,' the only published compilation of music dedicated to, commissioned by, or closely associated with Powell, the first native-born American violinist to achieve international recognition.

Pine won the gold medal at the J.S. Bach International Violin Competition (Leipzig, 1992) and holds prizes from several other leading competitions including the Queen Elisabeth (Brussels, 1993), Kreisler (Vienna, 1992), Szigeti (Budapest, 1992), and Montreal (1991) International Violin Competitions. She won honors for her interpretation of the Paganini Caprices at the Szigeti Competition and Paganini International Violin Competition (Genoa, 1993).

Her Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation assists young artists through various projects including the Instrument Loan Program, Grants for Education and Career, Global HeartStrings (supporting classical musicians in developing countries), and a curricular series in development with the University of Michigan: The String Students' Library of Music by Black Composers. She teaches chamber music, coaches youth orchestras, gives master classes, conducts workshops at universities, adjudicates music competitions, creates special programs for children and school groups, and offers spoken program notes or pre-concert conversations for audiences of all ages.

Booklet for Violin Lullabies