In lieu of CD Liner Notes for our new album, Genghis Baby: Songs for Noa, we'd like to offer some in-depth info and commentary from the Barbies which we'll post periodically here on the blog! Here's our second installment:
Track 12
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
Written by Billy Joel
Arranged by Avi Mehta
This final track on Genghis Baby is a much loved song originally written and recorded by New York's own Billy Joel on his 1993 album River of Dreams. He wrote the song in honor of his own daughter, and as Genghis Baby: Songs for Noa is our own gift to our very own Genghis Baby, we thought it a fitting ending to this lovely collection of songs.
Our good friend Avi Mehta saw the potential in this song for brass instruments. Here's what he had to say about it:
"The arrangement of Billy Joel's Lullabye began its life scored for brass quintet at the University of Wisconsin, where Leelanee and I both started college in 2004. Too busy with our classical repertoire, our quintet never performed the arrangement and it was soon put on a shelf for nearly eight years.
I was somewhat shocked that Leelanee remembered the arrangement a few months ago, when she asked me to rearrange Lullabye for Genghis Barbie. She had mentioned the recording project of their new CD, filled exclusively with lullabies to commemorate the birth of the quartet's newest family member, Noa. Always thrilled to collaborate with long-time friends (which always seem to be the most rewarding anyway), I sent the reworked transcription a few days later.
Upon receiving the newly released CD just a few months later, I realized that no matter what the entry point may be, each listener will surely be able to find a path into these songs and be able to bridge them with something relevant in their own lives.
I used to tell Leelanee that Genghis Barbie is one of few groups of classically trained musicians that can keep the 21st century listener engaged enough to keep them from checking their text messages for an entire hour. I am truly excited about being a small part of their work, and look forward to bringing them up to Boston in the near future."
Wow, thanks, Avi! :)
For more information about the arranger, please visit www.avimehta.com
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