I’m of the opinion that
it is never too early to start your children on Shakespeare. I think it’s
easier for kids to pick up the language early on. If you wait until they’re
teenagers, it may be more of a struggle for them. O Baby Mine: Sing A Song Of Shakespeare is a collection of songs
based on the works of William Shakespeare, and is aimed at children and
parents. I am neither, but I am enjoying the CD all the same. The title of the
CD is a play on “O Mistress Mine,” from Twelfth
Night (a song that was covered by Paul Kelly on his 2012 release, Spring And Fall).
Different artists
contribute their takes on the works of the bard, focusing on the comedies and
tragedies. The histories are not really represented, which isn’t all that
surprising. But it is somewhat surprising to find the sonnets likewise unrepresented
here. Besides Twelfth Night, there are
songs inspired by As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and other
comedies. It’s nice to have The Two Gentlemen
Of Verona represented here, by “Who Is Sylvia?” a short tune which has a
fun New Orleans flavor, and vocals that have shades of Paul McCartney. And it’s cool to have a song inspired by the
plot of The Comedy Of Errors (“Do You
Think You Have A Twin?”). There are also some songs inspired by the tragedies,
including one, of course, inspired by Romeo
And Juliet (“Nightingale’s Lullaby,” a sweet tune with cello).
“Up And Down”
O Baby Mine opens with “Up And Down,” which begins with a child
reciting Puck’s lines from Act III Scene II of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Up
and down, up and down/I will lead them up and down.” The song then kicks in,
and has the feel of a groovy folk tune. I only wish the lyrics were delivered
with an even more mischievous air, as Puck might sing them. These are lines
regarding Lysander and Demetrius, with Puck promising to keep them from harming
each other. And though the song’s lyrics are all lines by Puck, some of them
are from different scenes. For example, the next lines (“I’ll follow you. I’ll lead you about a round”) are from Act III
Scene I, and are about the mechanicals. And “Lord what fools these mortals be” is from Act III Scene ii.
“Shakespeare Said It First”
“Shakespeare Said It
First” is a song about how people often quote Shakespeare without knowing it,
and offers many examples, such as “heart
of hearts” and “Give the devil his
due.” This song could be a lot longer, as there are many, many more
examples to choose from (like “dog will
have his day”). This song is presented with simply vocals and keys, both
performed by Cinco Paul, who also wrote the song. There is a definite sense of play,
but it is a song for adults as much as for children, as most folks are
completely unaware of how often they refer to Shakespeare’s works.
“There Are Bees”
“There Are Bees” is a
delightful folk song written and sung by Madison Scheckel. The lyrics are
inspired by a song Ariel sings in Act V Scene I of The Tempest. This is one of my favorite tracks. It has a great feel
to it, and there is certainly a joy here. There are some wonderful lyrics, like
this line: “And where there’s me there’s
always you.”
“O Baby Mine”
As I mentioned, the title
of this collection comes from a song from Twelfth
Night. The title track is a slow, soft, pretty song, the lyrics by Susan
Lambert and Rob Kendt, though some of the lines are directly from Shakespeare’s
play, such as “Present mirth hath present
laughter” and “Youth’s a stuff will
not endure.” These lines, by the way, are sung by Feste in Act II Scene iii.
This track features some wonderful work by Melissa Wrolstad on violin, Doug
Davis on banjo, and Paula Lane on dobro.
This song is featured in
two separate versions on this CD: Daddy
Version and Mommy Version. The
second version has vocals by Madison Scheckel. Rob Kendt plays guitar on both
versions, and Doug Davis plays banjo on both. But the second lacks the violin
and dobro.
Macbeth
“Witches’ Song” is a
combination of two of the witches’ scenes from Macbeth: Act I Scene i and Act IV Scene i. The lines are rearranged
somewhat, with the last lines of Act I Scene i being the first lines of the
song: “Fair is foul and foul is
fair/Hover through fog and filthy air.” The vocals are delivered with a
great sense of play by Benita Scheckel and Patricia Ann Lamkin (yes, only two
witches in this version). And I love Melissa Wrolstad’s work on violin. I’ll be adding this track to my Halloween play
list.
I was surprised to find that this CD also includes a song
based on two very serious speeches of Macbeth’s – the “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech from Act V, and the “Macbeth does murder sleep” speech from Act
II. Though “Out, Out, Brief Candle”
actually includes only the one line from the former, “Out, out, brief candle,” and then begins the latter with the word “sleep” from “Macbeth does murder sleep,” and then continues from there (“the innocent sleep…”), which of course
changes the tone. Madison Scheckel’s vocals remind me a bit of Nico on this
track. This song also features Amy Laura McLean on cello, a beautiful addition.
King Lear
I go back and forth on which
is the greatest artistic achievement of the human race – Hamlet or King Lear. I
didn’t expect either of these great tragedies to be mentioned on this album,
but “Oh Father” begins with David Tobocman singing of taking his daughters to
see King Lear. (This song also refers
to Macbeth and Romeo And Juliet.)
And “We Two Alone” is a
song based on an incredible speech from Act V of King Lear,
when Lear has regained some measure of himself, and some joy at his reunion with his daughter, even as they’re both taken prisoner.
CD Track List
- Up And Down
- Shakespeare Said It First
- There Are Bees
- O Baby Mine (Daddy version)
- Witches’ Song
- Who Is Sylvia?
- Nightingale’s Lullaby
- Sigh No More
- Do You Think You Have A Twin?
- Oh Father
- In Springtime
- O Baby Mine (Mommy version)
- Out, Out, Brief Candle
- We Two Alone
O Baby Mine: Sing A Song Of Shakespeare was released on August 12,
2014.
Note: I also posted this
review on Pop Culture Beast and Mostly Shakespeare.
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