Meredith Monk: Gotham Lullaby – Not from this World?

Meredith Monk’s “Gotham Lullaby” was composed by her in 1975 and performed live at Lensic Center in 2004 which is the performance I will refer to. Monk sees the human voice as important instrument and therefore focuses on exploring different facets of her voice. The pieces of art she creates are usually performances which combine dancing, singing and visual expressions. In “Gotham Lullaby” the main focus is on her voice which is accompanied by a piano. She plays the piano herself while singing the song.

The song starts with a calming melody played on the piano. It has reputative elements and, just like the name, reminds me of a lullaby which usually has the purpose to put children to sleep. Since the melody is very calming, it creates a warm feeling or atmosphere in which one could feel secure. This introduction to the song consists of just the piano.

When Monk started singing, I was trying to figure out the lyrics or the language she was singing in until I figured out that it was a made-up language or no language at all. The sounds she creates are, in my opinion, a mixture of singing and humming. However, the singing/humming matched the melody as well as the atmosphere created beforehand by the piano. Monk also uses many “lalala” elements which match the theme of the song. Since I was still thinking about the language, I thought that it might be quite hard to come up with a new language or new words. Another question I had was how to put emotions into singing when there are no lyrics to express them with. However, she managed to include emotions as if it was a real language. I was really surprised by that.

The part which comes at 1:47 was quite irritating for me because I did not expect Monk’s singing to change. For me, this felt like a weird way of singing, crying or also shouting. I do not know if I have ever heard such sounds in a similar context in music. In my opinion, this did not match the calm, warm vibe which was created before. The song continued as before with the same rhythm and a similar melody of the piano. There are always four notes played on the piano in a different arrangement. The interrupting part reoccurs at 2:19 which, for me, does not sound harmonic. If this was a real lullaby, these parts would probably do the exact opposite and would keep me awake instead of putting me to sleep. When the song comes its end, the piano becomes more present again, and the melody gets slower which creates an outro and marks the ending of the song.

All in all, I really liked the song and the atmosphere it creates. For me, the terms “Gotham” and “lullaby” create a contrast which is also portrayed in the song itself by the contrary parts. In “Gotham lullaby” Monk demonstrates different variations of her voice or the human voice in general. Moreover, the song points out very well how the human voice can be used as an instrument and how voice can lead the direction of a song.