Ninna Nanna: Berceuses and Lullabies (Savall, Hesperion Xxi)

The songs are from a variety of European musical cultures and periods, from the Sephardic diaspora of the sixteenth century to Estonia last winter. And absolutely none of it is as soppy as a disc of lullabies threatens to be.

A disc that will illuminate your life. Get it as soon as you can.

What gives this CD its magic is the fact that this is music making amongst friends and family. In fact the record label is Jordi Savall's own, Monserat Figueras is his wife, and Arianna Savall his daughter - so it really is an all family affair. The whole of Hesperion XXI play like they know each other intimately and we are just privileged eavesdroppers who were lucky enough to have overheard them. If some of the major record labels are increasingly marketing their music like MacDonalds hamburgers then this is like being invited to dine at a lovely family run Spanish restaurant. There is a heartwarming homeliness here the majors could never emulate in a hundred years. So it is entirely appropriate that this should be a collection of lullabies, for this is a celebration of family intimacy of the most deeply poetic and affectionate kind.

The selection of music might strike a casual listener as being unusual - exotic is a better term - yet they are all so instantly attractive that I think this would make a lovely gift (especially given the beautiful booklet that comes with it) to a child, a mother, a partner, a friend, a music lover; even people who know nothing about the composers here would surely be enchanted. I was particularly delighted by the reviewer who wrote that her daughter listened to this at night - oh, how fortunate it would be to grow up with music like this with its imaginatively chosen collection of music from so many countries and centuries - you would carry this music in your heart for the rest of your life! Amongst the songs is a Greek song, a Catalan song, a 16th century English song, a song by William Byrd, Max Reger, Moussorgsky as well as two by Arvo Part, both of which carry dedications to Monserat Figueras, Arianna and Jordi Savall (in the photograph reproductions of the first pages of the handwritten score Arvo Part has written in German 'gewidmet an...' if you were wondering where this info comes from).

Typical of the CD is how difficult it is to hold back a tear listening to Reger of all composers - I would have never thought it possible, especially when it would have been simply all too easy to choose some all to well known Schubert Lied, but here it is, they have picked Reger and it is PERFECT. Yet that is only one gem amongst so many more here. I am speechless, for this CD is indeed a rare treasure made for people who truly love beautiful music making - a CD to cherish and to weep for joy over.

I should add that as usual from Vox Alia the recorded sound is audiophile quality, and a notch above what you get from about 95% of record labels. In my opinion they even surpass some boutique audiophile labels like Linn, which is really saying something. So if you love to luxuriate in rich sound this will fit like a glove.

If you fall in love with this recording please, please may I suggest you BUY it for someone you love, rather than burning it, just as a way of saying 'thank you' to this family of musicians. This is a family run label rather than some huge impersonal coorporation and I have seen too many private boutique record firms go bust over the years, so please help ensure that these artists continue to make lovely recordings such as this one.

I am adding this CD to my desert island collection.

What is most clearly manifest in this musical anthology is Figueras' professionalism and her Catalan background. Unlike the operatic divas who have deigned to release popular renditions, she demonstrates how someone who truly understands the music of mountain villages or plains communities in any nation can elevate even the most "common" music. The selections range over five centuries or more, reinforcing the impression that nothing exceeds the capacity of her elegant voice to convey feeling to the enraptured listener. Each of us will likely settle on a favourite selection. Predictably, my own is a Catalan piece of an anonymous composer. Perhaps because the lullaby is in her native tongue, the richness of Figueras' rendition evokes intense emotional response. Would that i'd been born a Catalan!

Alia Vox was launched to give fresh impetus to the recordings of Figueras, her husband Jordi Savall and the groups they have created together. This CD will remain a testimony to their efforts to produce the highest quality discs. The sound is excellent, clearly imparting voice and background instruments alike. With 18 selections from a variety of eras and locations, the notes for this CD are extensive. The text of each tune is given in the original and seven other languages. Could scholarship and the universality of music be given finer endorsement? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]