Heritage, L :: Lullabye for Bear

Lee Heritage composed Lullabye for Bear, for flute and guitar, while teaching at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina, 'Land of Waterfalls' and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This beautiful area became a second home for the composer, his wife, and thier Great Pyrenees dog, Bear.

At the time, the composer wrote, 'The gentle, tree-covered mountains of the Pisgah National Forest seem to awaken Bear to his heritage as a protector of sheep in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. He spends his mornings accompanying my wife on long walks in the forest, eagerly following the scent of deer and other wildlife - but always on a leash! Bear returns to our cabin during the warm afternoons to rest at my feet while I compose. Bear often joins us on the lawn for a concert where he is a great favorite with the music center students.'

Lullabye for Bear was composed at the request of Samuel Adler and was first performed as a postlude to a lecture he presented at the Brevard Music Center in the summer of 1977. The performers at the premiere performance were flutist Amy Heritage and pianist Andrew Cooperstock. Later, Dr. Heritage created a version of this work for flute and guitar.

In 1997 Lullabye for Bear won second place in the Composer's Guild Music for Children composition competition. The reviewer wrote: 'This is a beautiful work that is appealing and well constructed. The composer uses conservative modern materials in a fresh manner in the spirit of children with limited technical difficulties. Delightful!'