I was studying abroad in China in the late 1990’s when I first heard witnessed a breathtaking live performance of an erhu, an ancient Chinese bowed two-string instrument whose origins date back more than a thousand years.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and haunting. You can watch a stirring erhu performance by Yu Hongmei.
Because I am half-Chinese (with some Japanese thrown in for good measure), I want our son to grow up with an appreciation for his cultural heritage through language, music, customs, and holidays.
One way to share the beauty of music and instruments from Asia is through a stellar release from Putumayo Kids: Asian Dreamland. Lush, and peaceful lullabyes are performed with women’s (mamas’) voices and the rich orchestration of instruments from Asia.
WIN IT!
One winner will receive a copy of Putumayo Kids’ Asian Dreamland
To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post before Sunday, November 5th at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the contest rules– all generic comments are ineligible.). At $13.99, Asian Dreamland is perfect accompaniment for infant massage, mom and baby yoga time, or a romantic dinner for two.
For more in-the-know fun on Putumayo World Music new releases, artist interviews, and more you can follow them on Twitter, and become a Putumayo World Music fan on Facebook.
YOUR TURN:
I want to know…What kind of lullabyes do you sing (or listen to) with your child?
Thank you to Putumayo Kids for providing a sample copy of Asian Dreamland CD for the purpose of this review.
**UPDATE**
Congrats to the winner, #5 AndreaT.
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Filed under: Giveaways, Music for Families, product review | Tagged: Amazon.com, asian dreamland, asian lullabyes, children's music, lullabyes, putumayo kids, putumayo world music, world music for kids
the first time i heard an ehru was in chicago, waiting for the el with my husband. i didn’t know what it was, but he (a pianist) enlightened me. i agree, it is beautiful! asian dreamland sounds like a great album.
sounds like an awesome place to hear the erhu!
I don’t have any children yet, but as a babysitter I loved to sing french lullabies to the children I cared for.
I haven’t heard the Asian Dreamland CD, but I have listened to the Celtic Dreamland album and it is lovely.
Celtic Dreamland is on my list of albums that I want to experience!
Oh, I’ve got to hear the Asian dreamland Putumayo CD. I’m going to head over to Amazon.com. I’m sure they will have a preview. My son was in China this summer for 5 weeks for a language immersion class and he learned a lot and had fantastic time.
I think Asian music is beautiful. I really enjoyed all of the music at Beijing summer olympics opening games! I agree it’s important to expse children to a variety of cultures.
We sing to Enya, also sing quietly the ABC song, and my favorite things from Sound of Music (my all time fav movie)
Our favorite lullaby is one I made up the words to: “Robbie, baby” sung to the tune of “Santa Baby”. (We brought him home from the hospital on Christmas Eve, so I was in a festive mood!) The song is different every time I sing it, but works like a charm!
Right now, I have the Baby Guitars lullaby CD from Nancy Wilson of Heart and it is AMAZING. We listen to it every night.
My brother told me about this. He’s living in China right now and I’ve been meaning to check this kind of music out.