Lullaby For Benjamin: A Song History

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"Lullaby For Benjamin" is an original piece by Dana Gruber, who includes it in Lullabies, a book of gentle melodies for mountain dulcimer published by Fingers Of Steel; the listing sets it in DAD tuning and names Gruber as composer.[1] Of the fifteen titles the listing names, this is the only one it credits to Gruber as composer; three others carry composer credits (Civilla D. Martin, Stephen Foster and Mozart), and the book as a whole is described as gathering songs from around the world.[1] The book is arranged mainly for solo dulcimer, with some duets and ensemble pieces mixed in.[1]

A delicate etched sketch of a woman in a long, flowing dress bending forward

James McNeill Whistler, Cameo, No. 1 (Mother and Child), etching, c. 1890–93. Shown for its mother-and-child subject; it has no connection to the tune.

According to her DulcimerDownloads biography, Gruber and her husband, Hank, have performed as an instrumental duo on acoustic instruments since 1997, the year an Appalachian Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, introduced them to the mountain dulcimer, and their work together includes workshops as well as concerts.[2] The sources consulted here do not say who Benjamin is, when the tune was written, or whether Gruber has recorded it.[1][2]

Our book that contains the song "Lullaby For Benjamin"

Sources

  1. Fingers Of Steel: "Dana Gruber, Lullabies".
  2. DulcimerDownloads: "Dana Gruber – Mountain Dulcimer Books & Bio".
  3. Image: James McNeill Whistler, Cameo, No. 1 (Mother and Child), etching, c. 1890–93. The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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