Classical Lullabies

For your listening pleasure, a collection of the classical world's best bets for sending drowsy tots off to dreamland and frazzled adults to a quiet wonderworld of calm and relaxation. Buff those rough edges to the sound of Turkish concert pianist Idil Biret as she lends her finesse to Chopin's "Berceuse in D flat major", or let yourself be lulled by the Rorianne Schrade's hypnotic rendition of a "Berceuse" by Tchaikovsky mentor and "Mighty Handful" composer Mily Balakirev. Vocal cords not up to a bedtime performance? The choral group Polyphony, with conductor Stephen Layton, is only too happy to provide the soothing sounds of "Sleep". No need to count sheep — more lovely Classical Lullabies await in Next Steps.

The last thing an artist wants is to put people to sleep, yet composers through the ages have tested their tranquilizing powers with the berceuse, or "cradle song" — the Eroica Trio's feminine touch makes for a quite beautiful variation of the theme, as it's used in Benjamin Godard's French opera, Jocelyn. Renaissance ensemble the King's Noyse takes us back to slumbers of old with "The Cradle", American classical guitarist Christopher Parkening lends his skills to a gorgeously soporific rendition of Federico Mompou's "Cuna", and Andrew Kennedy lends his cultured tenor to "Cradle Song" from The Curlew: Songs by Peter Warlock. Sleep deep with the sounds of our Classical Lullabies Deep Cuts.

There's something about a classical lullaby that really hits the soft, sleepy spot in us all, be you an Elizabethan melancholic who just wants some rest (John Dowland and "Come, Heavy Sleep" performed by Julian Bream and Sir Peter Pears), a fiery Russian romantic gearing down for a swoony nighttime idyll (Sergei Rachmaninov's "Lullaby, Op. 16, No. 1" re-created via Zenph Studios software to near-perfectly replicate the master himself), or even a contemporary composer from Philadelphia getting ready for bed (Aaron Jay Kernis and "Before Sleep and Dreams: Lullaby" by the Eberli Ensemble & Evelyne Luest).

Having trouble getting to sleep, perchance to dream? We bring you time-honoured tunes to snooze by with our Classical Lullabies Essentials, a wealth of aural chamomile to draw down those heavy lids — or, for those who would rather remain conscious, some peaceful sounds by which to simply chill. It all begins with the most beloved of classical cradle songs, "Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4" — better known as "Brahms's Lullaby" and given a gorgeous performance here by Argentine mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink and Roger Vignoles. From there, the Barry Wordsworth and the London Symphony Orchestra float you through the lush quiet of "Pavane de la belle au bois dormant" from Maurice Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and John Williams brings on the zzzzz's with "Vallancico de Navidad, for guitar". Sweet dreams never sounded so good.