My Name is Barbara
Song record peer reviewed by Editorial Board member: Gregory Zavracky| Song Title | My Name is Barbara (Search) |
| Composer(s): | Leonard Bernstein |
| Composer Underrepresented Group | LGBTQ+; Jewish (Search) |
| Author(s): | Leonard Bernstein |
| Author Underrepresented Group | LGBTQ+; Jewish (Search) |
| Keyword(s) & Features: | Babies; Barbara; Believing; Bottles; Bushes; Busy; Children; Children's Song; Complaining; Composer is Poet; Curiosity; Fibbing; Humor; Information; Lying; Mothers; Storks; Treble Chorus; Zoos |
| First Line | My mother says that babies come in bottles (Search) |
| Average Duration | 1:00 (Search) |
| Year of composition | 1942 - 1943 (Search) |
| Link to English Text Online | https://songofamerica.net/song/my-name-is-barbara/ |
| Larger Work | I Hate Music!: A Cycle of Five Songs (Search) |
| Musical Form | Binary (Search) |
| Original Language | English (Search) |
| Score Source | https://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Leonard-Bernstein-I-Hate-Music-high-voice-piano-High-Voice-Piano/2064385 |
| Audio Source | https://open.spotify.com/track/1TEes4alsTSGhnFQkn0r2G |
| Difficulty Level | College (Search) |
| Catalog Designation | No. 1 (Search) |
| Voice part suggested by composer | Soprano |
| Range: | E4 - A5 (Search) |
| Original Key | E Major (Search) |
| Dedicated To | Edys Merril (Search) |
| Premiered By | Jennie Tourel, mezzo-soprano; Leonard Bernstein, piano; August 24, 1943, Public Library, Lenox Massachussetts (Search) |
| Notes | Also available in low key. A note in the score from the composer: In the performance of these songs, coyness is to be assiduously avoided. The natural, unforced sweetness of child expressions can never be successfully gilded; rather will it come through the music in proportion to the dignity and sophisticated understanding of the singer. (Search) |
| Recommended Printed Source | Boosey and Hawkes, "Leonard Bernstein, I Hate Music!” (Search) |
| Contributor | JEM (Search) |