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Good Night!

This is an album of classical lullabies, berceuses, wiegenlieder performed by the French pianist Bertrand Chamayou. My copy is on vinyl, and was a Christmas gift - specifically for the strange Christmas of 2020. Its sixteen tracks include such old chestnuts as Brahms's 'Wiegenlied' (as transcribed for solo piano by Max Reger) and Chopin's op. 57 'Berceuse'.

Besides these familiar melodies there are some delightful pieces plucked from the dustier corners of the repertoire composed by the likes of Janáček, Lyapunov, Villa-Lobos, Busoni, Martinů, Balakirev and Alkan; but only a single very short work by a female composer: 'La Toute Petite s'endort' ("The Little Girl Falls Asleep") by Mel Bonis. There's also a single piece of mid-20th-Century atonality in the shape of Helmut Lachenmann's 'Wiegenmusik', which, while it doesn't blend quite seamlessly with the pieces of honeyed romanticism either side of it; neither does it feel altogether out of place. 

Even more up-to-date is the 'Song for Octave' composed specifically for the album by Bryce Dessner. Overall, it's a thoughtfully-compiled recital that's beautifully played and recorded: ideal listening before heading to bed. The LP's delightful cover image is by the photographer Gilbert Garcin.
 

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