Leave Your Sleep

by Natalie Merchant

Overview

A magical double billing: Natalie Merchant and Barbara McClintock bringing music and poetry to life

This collection of classic children's poetry, adapted to music by Natalie Merchant, opens the door to a wondrous world filled with witches and fearless girls, blind men and elephants, giants and sailors and dancing bears.

Leave Your Sleep features a daring and delightful selection, ranging from the beloved (e.e. cummings, Edward Lear, and Jack Prelutsky) to the undiscovered (the young Nathalia Crane). Natalie Merchant's brilliant musical renderings, selected from her highly praised album, share the stage with Barbara McClintock's richly imagined art to create a memorable reading, looking, and listening experience.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2010
Label:	Nonesuch / Warner Bros.
UPC:	0075597980394
Rank:	129951

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience
2. Equestrienne
3. Calico Pie
4. Bleezer's Ice-Cream
5. It Makes a Change
6. The King of China's Daughter
7. The Dancing Bear
8. The Man in the Wilderness
9. Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
10. If No One Ever Marries Me
11. The Sleepy Giant
12. The Peppery Man
13. The Blind Men and the Elephant

Disc 2

14. Adventures of Isabel
15. The Walloping Window Blind
16. Topsyturvey-World
17. The Janitor's Boy
18. Griselda
19. The Land of Nod
20. Vain and Careless
21. Crying, My Little One
22. Sweet and a Lullaby
23. I Saw a Ship A-Sailing
24. Autumn Lullaby
25. Spring and Fall: To a Young Child
26. Indian Names

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Natalie Merchant   Primary Artist,Vocals
Lunasa   Primary Artist
Medeski, Martin & Wood   Primary Artist
Ditty Bops   Primary Artist
The Memphis Boys   Primary Artist
Hazmat Modine   Primary Artist
Meridian Arts Ensemble   Primary Artist
The Fairfield Four   Primary Artist
The Klezmatics   Primary Artist
Dan Nimmer   Piano
Gabriel Gordon   Guitar
George Flynn   Trombone (Bass)
Eddie Allen   Trumpet
Daniel Grabois   Horn
John Medeski   Piano
Gene Chrisman   Drums
Robert Rinehart   Viola
Victor Goines   Clarinet
Joseph Fire Crow   Drums,Rattles,Spoken Word,Native American Flute
Paul Meehan   Guitar (Acoustic)
Deidre Rodman   Harpsichord
Sandra Park   Violin
Wayne Jackson   Trumpet
Birch Johnson   Trombone (Tenor)
Sean Smyth   Fiddle
Judy Hyman   Fiddle
Matt Darriau   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Clarinet (Bass)
Jim Spake   Saxophone
Katell Keineg   Vocals
Ali Muhammed Jackson   Drums
Jeremy McCoy   Bass
Jeanne LeBlanc   Cello
Frank London   Trumpet,Horn (Alto)
Trevor Hutchinson   Bass (Upright)
Sterling Campbell   Drums
Jon Nelson   Trumpet
Raymond G. Stewart   Tuba
Kyle Turner   Tuba
Gilad Harel   Clarinet
Michelle Baker   French Horn
Kimberly Miller   Vocals
Edward Hall   Vocals
Erik Charlston   Percussion
Nina Stern   Recorder,Chalumeau
Richie Barshay   Poyk,Frame Drum,Drums (Snare)
Michael Leonhart   Trumpet
Shan Jiang   Violin
Steve Elson   Clarinet,Sax (Baritone),B-Flat Clarinet
Lisa Kim   Violin
Bobby Emmons   Organ (Hammond)
Bruce Creditor   Clarinet
Bobby Wood   Piano,Wurlitzer
Clark Gayton   Trombone
Marc Goldberg   Bassoon
Walter Blanding   Saxophone
Greg Cohen   Bass
Doug Wamble   Banjo,Guitar
Lisa Gutkin   Fiddle
Horace James   Keyboards
Richie Stearns   Banjo
Joseph Thompson   Vocals
Reggie Young   Guitar
Wycliffe Gordon   Trombone
Wynton Marsalis   Trumpet
Brian McWhorter   Trumpet
William Barrett   Chromatic Harmonica
Dan Aran   Drums,Percussion
Marc Friedman   Bass
Benjamin Herrington   Trombone
Phil Myers   French Horn
Andy Bassford   Guitar
Robert Hamlett   Vocals
Minyoung Baik   Violin
Arnaud Sussmann   Violin
Howard Wall   French Horn
Erik Ralske   French Horn
Mike Davis   Trombone (Tenor)
Joe Rice   Vocals
Bill Spence   Hammer Dulcimer
Kevin Crawford   Flute,Vocals,Bodhran,Low Whistle,Tin Whistle
Billy Martin   Drums
Karen Dreyfus   Viola
Blake Miller   Accordion
Abby DeWald   Vocals
Cillian Vallely   Low Whistle,Uillean Pipes
Isaac Freeman   Vocals
Amanda Barrett   Vocals
Larry McDonald   Percussion
Jack Hale   Trombone
Carlos Henriquez   Bass
Pete Smith   Banjo,Guitar (Electric)
Motomi Igarashi   Viola da Gamba
Erik Della Penna   Guitar
Owen Young   Cello
Gerald Johnson   Saxophone
Greg Heffernan   Cello
Michael Gomez   Dobro,Lap Steel Guitar
Jennifer Kreisberg   Chant
Mark Murphy   Bass (Upright)
Weng Po Wei   Dizi
Wang Guo Wei   Erhu
Sun Li   Pipa
Rich Huntley   Drums
Pam Fleming   Trumpet
Matt Lehmann   Violin
Alberto Parrini   Cello
Andrew Bassford   Guitar
Dieter Hennings   Lute,Theorbo,Baroque Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Joanne Williams   Vocals
Eileen Moon   Cello
Anne Lehmann   Violin
Paul Morrisset   Guitar (Bass),Horn (Baritone)
Uri Sharlin   Accordion
Michael Leech   Bass
Dan Levine   Tuba,Horn (Alto),Trombone (Bass)
Sharon Yamada   Violin
Lorin Sklamberg   Accordion
Hoova Simpson   Bass
Jessica Lizak   Flute
Richard Stearns   Banjo
Joseph Daley   Tuba
Ina Zdorovetchi   Harp
Mihail Jojatu   Cello
John Roberts   Voices,Concertina
Sherry Sylar   Oboe
Paul Sutton   Drums
Chris Wood   Bass
Artis Wodehouse   Pump Organ
Lino Gomez   Clarinet (Bass)

Technical Credits

Bob Ludwig   Mastering
e.e. cummings   Text,Composer
Eleanor Farjeon   Text,Composer
Sarah Cullen   Licensing,Photo Research
Jim Spake   Horn Arrangements
Natalie Merchant   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Introduction,Orchestration,String Arrangements
Paul Antonell   Studio Manager
Andres Levin   Producer
Ogden Nash   Text,Composer
Charles Causley   Text,Composer
Derik Lee   Assistant Engineer
Matthew Rankin   Publicity
Mervyn Peake   Text,Composer
Kabir Hermon   Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Pete Wolford   Assistant Engineer
Adam Deane   Assistant Engineer
Stephen Barber   Arranger,Orchestration,String Arrangements
Steve Rosenthal   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Clark Gayton   Horn Arrangements
Nick Wollage   Engineer,Recording
Wynton Marsalis   Arranger
Dustin Wicksell   Assistant Engineer
Edward Weston   Photography
Jack Prelutsky   Text,Composer,Photo Courtesy
Eli Walker   Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Nick Brophy   Engineer
Matthew Brady   Photography
Karina Beznicki   Production Supervisor
David Pearson   Package Design
Sean O'Loughlin   Orchestration,String Arrangements
Robert Edridge-Waks   Editorial Manager
Mark Seliger   Cover Photo,Photography
Marion Ettlinger   Photography
Carla Sacks   Publicity
Sue Berger   Project Coordinator
Sebastian Wintermute   Photo Restoration
Sebastian Peake   Photography
Nathalia Crane   Text,Composer
Megan Ingalls   Project Coordinator
Anna Eyre   Research
Ben Pinchot   Photography
Charles Ritzmann   Photography
David Rands   Photo Courtesy
Ella Reily Stocker   Research
Erin Casey   Research
Michael Leonhart   Horn Arrangements
Brian Thorn   Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Angie Teo   Assistant Engineer
Anne Harvey   Photo Courtesy
Arthur Moorhead   Production Manager
Rick Kwan   Assistant Engineer
Joseph Martin Kronheim   Illustrations
Kathie Pitman   Research
Robert C. Ludwig   Mastering
Dominic Dejoseph   Video Director

Editorial Reviews

In 2010, singer-songwriter Merchant released the recording Leave Your Sleep, a set of songs adapted from poems for and about children. As the title suggests, these poems—from the likes of Ogden Nash, e.e. cummings, and Charles Causley—carry a hint of the uncanny, and Merchant enthusiastically engages with klezmer, Dixieland jazz, zydeco, and other musical styles. “oetry on the page can be difficult to penetrate; sometimes it needs to be heard,” Merchant writes in her introduction to this print compendium, which provides 19 poems (seven fewer than the album) and a tie-in CD. McClintock contributes nostalgic illustrations that evoke the 1860s to 1920s. Fittingly, Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Land of Nod” leads the selections, and McClintock offers a quaint forest path, complete with dainty mouse parade, insect orchestra, and wonderland child. McClintock channels Randolph Caldecott in her sequence of circus pictures for Rachel Field’s “Equestrienne” and recalls the collaborations of Shepard and Milne when she illustrates Edward Lear’s “Calico Pie.” As curious as can be—in the Victorian sense of the word—this collaboration transports readers and listeners on multiple sensory levels. All ages. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

A nice collaboration between two stars in their own fields that should lure children even deeper into the magical world of poetry.” —Booklist

“A musical treat for parents as well as their children.” —Kirkus

“A classy bit of bookmaking.” —The Horn Book

“The jaunty selections feature horses, elephants, dancing bears, and wonderfully empowered children. McClintock's detailed paintings bring inviting color and fun to the verses in both spot art and full spreads.” —School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

K-Gr 3—In 2010, Merchant released a successful album of 30 classic children's poems that she set to music. Nineteen of these poems are now brought together in this anthology consisting of a delightful range of American and British poets from Ogden Nash and Edward Lear to Rachel Field and Jack Prelutsky. The jaunty selections feature horses, elephants, dancing bears, and wonderfully empowered children. McClintock's detailed paintings bring inviting color and fun to the verses in both spot art and full spreads. A full-length CD of the recordings is included, making this a feast of enchanting sounds, words, and visuals-a magnificent package for any poetry collection. Back matter includes photographs of the poets included, credits and more information about the poems and the music.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

An American singer-songwriter's two-CD album becomes a children's poetry collection. For her 2010 hit album with the same title, Merchant composed music for 30 19th- and 20th-century British and American poems, some written for children and some written about childhood. For this volume, she's selected 19 of those poems (18 from the CD set and one other), describing them as "representing the long conversation I had with my daughter during the first six years of her life." Both traditional and modern in style, they range widely in subject and mood. There are examples of wordplay by Prelutsky and Nash, nursery rhymes, verses by Stevenson and Lear, poems by cummings and Graves and more. Not all the texts, nor their authors, will be familiar. Not really "classic," but classy, what they have in common is splendid language and McClintock's engaging illustrations. Done with pen and ink and gently colored (except for a flamboyantly dressed giantess resting against a red velvet curtain), these detailed drawings add to the old-fashioned look. They vary from tiny vignettes and character sketches to scenes stretching across a spread. The end matter includes black-and-white photographs of the poets as well as music credits for the special-edition CD that will be included. A musical treat for parents as well as their children. (Poetry/CD. 5 & up)

Kirkus Reviews