***Now Available!***

All songs performed and orchestrated by Jennifer Thomas and Carolyn Southworth
(unless otherwise noted)

Jace Vek - Additional Orchestration
Jillian Goldin - Main Vocals on "Sweet Dreams"
Lori Cunningham - Background Vocals on "Sweet Dreams"
Paul Speer - Mixing and Mastering

To learn more about the artists appearing on this album, visit my Behind the Scenes page.

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Music by Johannes Brahms, Arranged by Jennifer Thomas

This is probably one of the most recognizable lullabies on the album, and it was one of the first songs that I started to play for my son when he was a sleepless newborn. The lyrics are:

Lullaby, and good night, with roses bedight,
With lilies o'erspread, is my baby's sweet head.
Lay you down now, and rest, may your slumber be blessed!
May thy slumber be blessed!

The melody to this song would play over and over in my head, and I would actually hum it to Preston as I rocked him to sleep at night. I eventually sat down at the piano and created a full arrangement of it. I refer to it as Preston's Song because I remember one night in particular, he had a rough time going to sleep, so I laid him in his swing next to the piano as I played. He was so calm and peaceful - and was just watching me. Slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes closed and he went to sleep. It was a very special moment for me, to see that the music I was writing for him really was working in getting him to sleep. I really felt like that song was his.

The song, to me, feels a bit more dramatic in nature compared to the typical lullaby. But the emotions behind this song were very much tied to the love I had for my newborn son - which as you know are a very strong emotion. That is how I felt, and just how the song ended up coming out.

This was one of those songs that just came to me all at once. It was at the end of a long day and I was feeling particularly creative at the piano. I imagined a clear night with a vast starry sky above, shooting stars, and the smell of summertime gardens.

I had a hard time keeping this piece "toned down", as I wanted to really expand upon it and rev it up to its full potential. While it is still very dramatic compared to the other lullabies, it is actually as toned down as I could get it. I may, one day, re-do the piece and give it the full cinematic approach I hear in my head that it deserves. To read more Behind the Scenes about the music, click here.

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When my Mother and I decided to do this album, one of the first things we did was decide which well-known lullabies we wanted to have on the album and who would do the arrangements. I had my heart set on doing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from the get-go.

My original intent was to create a very Mozart-esque arrangement of the piece in homage to the original Mozart variations of the song. Yet, every time I sat down at the piano to compose the arrangement, it ended up sounding very Celtic instead of Classical. I kept telling myself that I couldn't do a Scots-Irish version of Twinkle Twinkle, and yet there it was as plain as day at my very fingertips.

Oddly enough, this arrangement turned out to be one of my Mother's favorite pieces out of the ones that I wrote. And of course the orchestrations added by Jace Vek really amped it up to a whole new level.

This was another piece that I had my heart dead set on arranging from the very beginning. Oh how this song stirs me. It has been a part of my life ever since my best friend in 9th grade introduced it to me, afterwhich I went through a huge Billy Joel phase and that is about the only thing I listened to for a long time.

I've always found this song to be incredibly sweet and sincere - a father singing a lullaby to his daughter and telling her that if she will remember this song, that she'll always have a part of him in her heart.

I wanted to keep this piece true to the Billy Joel nature, but to beautify it more. Read more Behind the Scenes about this piece, click here.

Music by Carolyn Southworth

There is a special story behind this song. A dear friend of mine had cardiac arrest and was taken to the hospital, all the while receiving CPR from her husband and the paramedics. While in a coma, she was put on life support and the doctors did not expect her to recover. But she was attended to by both the "seen angels" who were the doctors, nurses, family and friends, and the "unseen angels" from beyond the veil. She is a walking miracle and has made a full and complete recovery. She attributes her recovery to those seen and unseen angels who were with her the entire time to strengthen and support her.

I wrote this song the night that she went into the hospital. I felt the title Unseen Angel was a perfect fit for this song after hearing her experience. The music just seemed to flow that evening, almost like I had unseen angels assisting me in the writing of it. I hope that you can feel the power and the emotion that was present, as you listen to this music. While she was in the coma, her husband played this song for her over and over in the hospital, trying to reach her.

In a way, we are the Unseen Angel to our children as we watch over them at night, so this song was perfect to include on this album. May all of us find the comfort and peace that we all are searching for, and may our guardian or unseen angel attend us in all that we do.

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Produced by Jennifer Thomas and Carolyn Southworth
Recorded at Tickled Ivory Music (Seattle, WA) and Heron's Point Music (Camano Island, WA)
Mixed and mastered by Paul Speer at Rainstorm Productions, Memphis, TN
Photography by Ron Southworth

Jennifer and Carolyn recorded on a 9 foot German Steinway D by Synthogy Ivory

© 2009 Tickled Ivory Music (ASCAP, and Heron's Point Music (BMI). Distributed by Tickled Ivory Music, Seattle, WA. and Heron's Point Music, Camano Island, WA.
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. _________________________________________________________________________________________________