Ninna Nanna: Lullabies

This is a formidable collection of lullabies, spanning 500 years, 18 of them (from almost as many countries) in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Catalan, English, and more, each one lovely, each one in its own idiom. Some are anonymous; others are by composers as different as Byrd, Mussorgsky, Milhaud, and Arvo Pärt. The disc shouldn't be listened to in one setting--no matter how interesting they are, they're still lullabies and can mellow the listener into torpor--but in three-or-so chunks, the contents are fascinating. Figueras can make her sound move from folk to classical, from a mother who is passionate about her child's safety to one who merely wants to entertain into slumber. The anonymous Greek lullaby (track 3) contains the oddest little vocal quirk--a whipping up of the tone at the close of some phrases--which only an artist like Figueras could pull off. And Savall and soloists accompany on various instruments--flute, harp, viols, etc.--with pianist Paul Badura-Skoda playing on three of the lullabies. The CD is a wonderful tour of the world through the centuries with only one subject in mind: sleep. And sleep is something, after all, that takes up a third of our lives. This CD keeps getting sweeter the more you listen. Recommended. --Robert Levine