“Mutterliebe”

“Mutterliebe”, a Lullaby in German for three-part women’s choir; and “Hello, Little One!”, which is the same song in English. “Hello, Little One!” began as a lullaby that I wrote for our youngest grandson George.  The first section of the song is written from a mother to her unborn child; the second section is from the mother the first time she sees her newborn.

These days, George is a robust, energetic boy; but he began life as a preemie with breathing problems, and was in the NICU for five weeks.  Seeing our daughter going through the hospital stay before he was born led to the first portion of the song.  After George was born, we were so delighted and thankful to see how beautiful and fully developed he looked, although he was seven weeks premature.  But, then we were told of his breathing difficulty, as he was rushed into the NICU.  We visited him in surgical gowns and masks, and rejoiced at each improvement along the way.

The German language “Mutterliebe” is the result of a collaboration with my friend Christa Schwing Broderick, who is fluent in German.  The resulting piece won the first place award for a setting in German for women’s choir in 2013, in a Composition Contest sponsored by the Houston, Texas Saengerbund.  The recording playing here is the premiere performance by the 150-voice-strong Gemischte Damenchor (combined women’s choir) at the  67th Annual Texas Saengerfest held at South Shore Harbor on May 5, 2013.  “Hello, Little One!” is the English language version.  Both “Mutterliebe” and “Hello, Little One!” are arranged for three-part women’s choir with piano accompaniment.  “Hello, Little One!” is also available for soprano solo voice and piano.

With special thanks to Helga von Schweinitz for proofreading our German. Helga is the author of “Helga’s Corner”, published by the German-Texan Heritage Society in Austin, TX.