Natalie Merchant, currently touring in support of her new album “Leave Your Sleep,” plays Ruth Eckerd Hall Aug. 24.
CLEARWATER – Natalie Merchant performs Tuesday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m., at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road.
The versatile singer-songwriter-musician who first earned fame as the leader of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs recently released her first studio album in seven years. “Leave Your Sleep,” from Nonesuch Records, is the culmination of six years of research and collaboration. In the artist’s own words, the two-disc set is the “most elaborate project” she has ever completed “or even imagined.”
“Leave Your Sleep” is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected by Merchant including pieces by both well-known and obscure writers.
In a press release issued by Sacks & Co., Merchant discusses the making of “Leave Your Sleep.”
“I decided to set poetry created by other writers to music,” Merchant said. “I chose works by both well-known and obscure poets, ranging from anonymous nursery rhymes and lullabies to poems by British Victorians, early and mid 20th Century Americans, and a few contemporary writers.
Ogden Nash, E.E. Cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Robert Graves are among the most well known of the group.”
The poems inspired vastly different musical settings with themes that range from humorous and absurd to tragic, romantic and deeply spiritual.
It took Merchant a full five years of meticulous research and writing to fully realize “Leave Your Sleep.” In gathering material, she found herself drawn to learn more about the poets who inspired her.
“Over time my curiosity about the lives of the poets that I had included in my anthology grew,” Merchant said. “So I read biographical accounts and letters, searched archives, and contacted heirs, executors, or the poets themselves in an attempt to know more about my co-writers. Much of this information is included in the 80 page book that accompanies the collection of music.”
In addition to this new method of creating lyrics, Merchant also stretches out musically on “Leave Your Sleep” by working with a variety of artists.
Recording sessions included contributions from the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Medeski Martin and Wood, The Fairfield Four, The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, members of the New York Philharmonic and The Klezmatics.
“The sessions were recorded in live ensemble settings to capture a fresh and spontaneous energy,” Merchant said. “They were some of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had making music.”
This tour will be Merchant’s first major outing in seven years, too.
Merchant and her eight-piece band will perform new material as well as favorites from throughout her career. While serving as lead singer and primary vocalist of 10,000 Maniacs, Merchant recorded some of her best known hits, including a cover of “Peace Train,” “These Are Days” and “Because the Night.”
Her first solo effort, “Tigerlily,” released in 1995, produced the singles “Carnival,” “Wonder” and “Jealousy.” She followed with three additional studio albums, including “Ophelia,” “Motherland” and “The House Carpenter’s Daughter.”
![[Image]](/content_images/081610_leconcert-01.jpg)
