Meredith Monk – Gotham Lullaby (or how to wake up anyone suddenly)

 Meredith Monk, born in 1942, is a real artistic talent. As a composer, dancer, choreographer, performer, director and filmmaker, she is well established in the American arts.

The Gotham Lullaby does start of as one would anticipate a regular lullaby. Soft piano sounds are then suddenly accompanied by the “lyrics” which consist on lalala and other similar “not really words” voices. After about 2 minutes Monk adds in more of a screaming/moaning effect to the original part of the song, which in the second round of the chorus becomes even louder and prominent.

While the first part does sound like a lullaby, if I would have to guess probably from Scandinavia, by the sounds of it, the sudden interruption rips the listener out of the peace and quiet a lullaby usually presents. The inability to make out the words of the lullaby tires out the listener, so in that aspect the lullaby does one hundred percent fulfill its purpose. At least my human brain always tries to figure out the words of songs, even if they are sung in a different language, but Monk’s constant lalalela and other half-words did not leave me with any satisfaction whatsoever.

If a baby would fall asleep during the verses of the song, the sudden moaning sounds which are also much louder and higher, interrupt not only the piece, but would definitely also interrupt the sleep of said baby.

The way the Gotham Lullaby is structured, it reminded me a lot of the ocean and its waves. When the water draws back she sings the real lullaby part with calming piano and soft enough voice. But when the wave starts to crash, the higher pitched ha ha and moaning come out. This repeats and the next wave is much bigger then the first one. Natural waves change size and are not artificially aligned to be the same.

To conclude, Meredith Monk’s Gotham lullaby was one of those pieces, where in the end, I cannot really say whether I enjoyed it or not. It did leave me a lot to think about however.