Little Star Lullabies’ – Track 1: The Stars Come Out to Say Goodnight
This album of music started life as a single track composed for the recent release entitled ‘Music for Healing, Relaxation and Massage’. On that album, all the tracks were timed at exactly five minutes in length and I ended up writing a piece that didn’t quite fit in with that (and as a result didn’t end up on the album). It was over eight minutes long and had a childlike lullaby feel to it that sounded out of place in the ‘healing’ context. I put it to one side and the idea of doing a sleep and relaxation album for babies and small children was hatched (that piece ended up being the final track called ‘Across the Milky Way’).
I wanted to start the album with music that was both warm and comforting (being mindful that many people would download single tracks and therefore play them in a different order!). Although this is increasingly how people are listening to their music, when you have an album in mind the track order is as important as the structure of the individual items. ‘The Stars Come Out to Say Goodnight’ is scored for a string orchestra of five different violin parts and a viola part (in contrast to a typical string orchestra which would consist of two different violin parts, violas, cellos and double basses) and it is this combination which gives the sound a light and airy quality. In addition there is a harp, a piano and a glockenspiel.
The piece begins with a harp lightly accompanied by some strings and a single piano line. It has suggestions of a musical box and the key of F major is warm and familiar. Soon the main theme is introduced on the piano and accompanied by the harp and glockenspiel and it’s this combination that suggests the stars of the title. Later, this theme reappears in the string arrangement with the six interweaving strands of violins and violas giving it a shimmering quality with the glockenspiel again adding a ‘twinkling’ effect above it all. Hopefully enough to help any child want to drift away into sleep!