Leiser Wind, quieter wind, is so, so good. This collection of German lullabies from Joshua Bredemeier and friends is just gorgeous and maximally appealing. Where Bredemeier's first group of revived children's songs felt more artsy than practical, this set of songs could put your baby to sleep and also put you in a good mood. The latter, at least, is a pretty sure bet.

Such good voices here. Jennifer Kothe, Laura Saleh, and Katrin Enkemeier sing beautifully, in turns lyric and crystalline and warm. Tenor Bredemeier and bass Björn Sterzenbach bring a warm and fuzzy anchor to the treble harmonies. The first three songs of the album, in particular, are so lovely and flow wonderfully, soaring apart and coming together, in duos and trios and full ensemble, too. This is one of those rare collections that from the first note feels like a respite.

If you and your kid are still awake a few songs in, more treats await. Vorm Fenster deserves special mention as a Bredemeier original that fits right in with all the traditional numbers. I'm glad he wrote it and glad he shared it, as the piece manages to be interesting without breaking the vibe. Other numbers tend toward the jazzier or the more piano-like, with little arpeggios plinking out under the tune.

Leiser Wind was a crowdsourced passion project, and I'm grateful to everyone who played a part in putting it together. The walziest tunes are my favorites: Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein; Kindlein mein; Leise, Peterle, leise. Sleep, my prince, my child, my quiet one. Lullabies are universal, and this recording deserves to be a classic.

Two years later and we get the antecedent to Joshua Bredemeier's Lauter Wind with the aptly named Leiser Wind. And even if you don't speak German, the cognates are still just as onomatopoetic with louder and lesser winds (sounds or songs in my imagination) riding through the breeze onto your eardrums. After all the rambunctious rabble-rousing of the previous album, these gentle lullabies will lay the heartiest little one right out.

The album has a distinct rolling feel. Like a gentle rolling wave that continues through each of the tracks and gives one a feel of rolling down a calm and gentle stream drifting lazily to and fro. Some of the tracks are original works, whereas others are traditional lullabies that Bredemeier reimagined for his quintet of performers.

The songs appear deceptively simple when they are anything but. Interwoven into each song is a strong foundational similarity of sound; you'll hear one track and a particular motif and then a few moments or tracks later it gets subtly introduced into the new song that can make you think you are listening to the previous song again. That would seem like a detriment to most albums, but the repetition gives a stronger element of familiarity that is actually more reassuring than anything else. Also, soundwise: without the use of percussion, the opening track Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein has this buzzing pulse in the upper voices that is mesmerizing as it begins to bubble under the skin. It is both energetic and comforting at the same time.

The only complaint that I have about Leiser Wind is a production idiosyncrasy. I tried listening on a bunch of different settings and playable devices with the same result: the album as a whole comes across as a bit cold and detached. Not like the performers aren't passionate about what they are singing, but there is a cold veneer over the recording. The upper voices are a bit brighter and less warm than the lower voices when singing background parts, and with a tinny intention. It's only noticeable from a critical listening "reviewer" perspective and not during my entertainment listening "audience" phase.

The album continues the easy listen by being easy listening with a soupçon of vocal jazz. Bredemeier just couldn't help himself by including some jazz runs and chords and a light swinging rhythm in Kommt gezogen, kleine Vögel.

If you ever have the need or temptation to download the Calm app, skip that, load up on some Leiser Wind and have an absolutely blissful sleeping moment. Isn't that the best comment that an album of lullabies could receive? Congratulations, you are doing your job and doing it very well!

The secondary title on the artwork for Leiser Wind roughly translates to "ten lullabies to rediscover" ("10 Schlaflieder Zum Neu- und Wiederentdecken"). That's a pretty lovely summary of the calm, lilting tunes on this album that include nine traditional songs and one (Vorm Fenster) penned by album mastermind Joshua Bredemeier himself.

I speak/understand very little German, but that didn't stand in the way of my utter enjoyment of this album. Even without understanding the lyrics, a listener can pick up on the loving parental tenderness of Kindlein mein or the gentle energy of Weißt du, wie viel Sternlein stehen.

Sonically, this is the product of a small group, which really works for these songs; the beginning of Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein features the delicate sound of individual voices. Lead Jennifer Kothe handles the solo line beautifully, and Bredemeier's arrangement keeps just the faintest of voices in the background for the first half of the song. Then the arrangement blossoms into a truly beautiful piece with harmonies and echoes, and it's one of the loveliest songs on the album as well as a stunning way to start things off.

There are some other striking moments on Leiser Wind: there's a part of Die Blümelein, sie schlafen that sounds like bells; and the album's longest song, Der Mond, sounds like the calm strumming of a guitar. The group harmonizing together on Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf is a lovely way to end the release and a nice counterpoint to the solo singing that kicked off the album (Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein).

At RARB, we hear so much contemporary modern pop a cappella, both in the collegiate realm as well as post-collegiate. Groups like Joshua Bredemeier's are a nice reminder of how much breadth there is in all-vocal music. Leiser Wind is a beautiful collection of calm, peaceful lullabies, and it's a shining example of how versatile music can be even with just five voices.