Looking for a CD called "[a] time to sleep"?

A compilation of classical songs and/or lullabies including a song
composed the 14th or 15th century.  I'm pretty sure I have the name of
the CD correct-- it was mentioned/played on a New York area radio
station tonight.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 08 Apr 2003 04:28 PDT

jon90 --

Do you know which New York radio station and the approximate time that
the music was broadcast?

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by jon90-ga on 08 Apr 2003 05:21 PDT

I'll have to check my car radio (left it on that station) I believe it
was one of the two major classical stations, and it was -very- close
to this time range: 7:15-7:30 pm, 4/7/03.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 08 Apr 2003 05:49 PDT

jon90 --

I am zeroing in on the answer to your question.  The online archive of
the relevant playlist information is a few days behind, so I have
contacted the station that is the likely source of this broadcast.  I
will follow up as necessary and should have a definitive answer soon.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by jon90-ga on 08 Apr 2003 07:01 PDT

Awesome. The track in question (the one they played last night) had a
Gregorian-like chant quality to it-- and after it played they said it
was written in the 14th or 15th century and was on a CD of "sleep"
music and that they had played a track from this CD one week earlier
and it was well received.  I'd certainly know the name of it if I
heard it.  Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 08 Apr 2003 08:42 PDT

jon90--

Status report:

As you know, there are two major radio stations in the New York City
region that feature classical music.

I have perused the playlist of one of them for yeaterday's schedule,
and it includes nothing that remotely resembles the piece you
described.

The playlist of the other station is not available online yet.  I
followed up an e-mail to the station with a phone call.  I was told
that the playlists for the weekend and for yesterday (Monday) should
be prepared and posted some time today, and the station has no way to
determine the works played on the program in question until that is
done.

When you said in your latest clarification that a work from the same
CD was played "one week earlier," I perused the playlists for the
program from March 27-April 3.  Unfortunately, I have not come up with
a likely candidate for a work from the CD you described, although I
researched the contents of the most promising selections.  (The names
of CDs are not disclosed on the playlists -- only the name of a work
and the artist.)

This raises the possibility that you heard the piece on another
station, so it would be useful if you would post the frequency of the
station to which you were listening.

I have put in a significant amount of time on this question, but I am
going to "unlock" it in case another researcher can give you
definitive information before the playlist in question is posted.  I
will be checking regularly for the updated playlist.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by jon90-ga on 08 Apr 2003 09:13 PDT

I certainly appreciate all the effort!  I will add a nice "tip" when
we finally get it figured out, I promise!  I could swear he said the
name of the CD was "a time to sleep"-- but I guess I must be wrong
since that CD doesn't seem to exist.

it is possible that I heard the track on one of the smaller FM
stations (the ones in the 88-89 part of the FM band-- where college
stations usually are) I'll have to check next time I'm in my car. 
Thanks  again for all the effort!

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Clarification of Question by jon90-ga on 08 Apr 2003 09:34 PDT

My girlfriend just advised me of the possibility that the name of the
-track- in question might be "a time to sleep" (but translated from
another language) as opposed to the name of the CD.  As I mentioned
previously, the track was from the 14th or 15th century.

jon90 --

Thanks to your girlfriend's hint, I have found the piece you heard and
the CD that includes it.

The piece is "Mediae octis tempus est" and it is included on a
recently released CD called "Darkness into Light."   The CD features
medieval chants and motets interspersed with new works composed by the
prominent contemporary composer, John Tavener.  The pieces are
performed by the Anonymous 4 (a vocal group) and, on some selections,
the Chilingirian String Quartet.

The recording was released in March 2003 by Harmonia Mundi and carries
the catalog number HMU 907274.

Here is a link to the Tower Records website, which includes audio
clips from every track on the CD:
Tower Records: Darkness Into Light
http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=2790891&cc=USD

The CD should be available at larger record stores as well from online
music retailers.


Search Strategy:

Before the hints began accumulating, I confirmed my belief that there
were only two major classical stations in New York City by going to
the following site:
About.com: New York City Radio Stations: FM
http://manhattan.about.com/cs/newyorkcityradi/

I then visited the websites of those two stations (WQXR-FM and
WNYC-FM) to search for recent "playlists."  Those sites are at the
following links and may come in handy to you in the future (links to
their playlists are prominently displayed):
WQXR.com
http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa/

WNYC.org
http://www.wnyc.org/

The WQXR playlist for Monday, April 7, showed no selections meeting
your initial description.  Here it is:
WQXR.com: Playlist; Monday, April 7, 2003
http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa/air/playlist/index.html?record=&date=20030407&month=4&year=2003

As noted in my clarification request, the WNYC playlist for that date
has not yet been posted.  Its archived playlists can be found here:
WNYC.org: Playlists
http://www.wnyc.org/music/playlists/index.html?year=2003&month=4

Based on your hint that another selection from the CD in question was
played on the same program one week ago, I reviewed the WNYC playlist
for March 31 and surrounding dates, but (after researching some CDs
based on some initially promising selections) did not come up with a
"smoking gun."

After your (girlfriend's) last hint about the reference to "sleep" in
a foreign language, I went back to the March 31st playlist and focused
on the Tavener listing for 9:21 p.m.  I am familiar with Tavener's
inspirational debt to medieval music and surmised that he may well
have included medieval-sounding pieces with Latin titles in the same
CD.  Here is the WNYC March 31 playlist:
WNYC.org: Playlist; March 31, 2003
http://www.wnyc.org/music/playlists/03312003.html

I then did the following Google search on the CD's catalog number and
was led to this recording, which turned out to be the one you are
seeking:
harmonis mundi 907274
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=harmonia+mundi+907274


I enjoyed the challenge and am pleased to be of help to you.  If any
of the above is unclear, please ask for clarification before rating
this answer.

markj-ga

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Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 08 Apr 2003 11:04 PDT

Spelling correction:

The piece is  "Medie noctis tempus est,"  per the Harmonia Mundi website.

Sorry.

markj-ga

Unclear???  You went way above and beyond!!  Thanks Soooooo much for
all you sleuthing!  One quick, additional question... if I like "the
sound" of that particular track (I love the soothing, chant-like
quality) can you, by chance, recommend other pieces/ CD's that might
have similar type music?  We really found it to be wonderful.

In any case, now I can do some of my own research on same thanks to
your excellent guidance!

Thanks very much for the generous tip and the five-star rating.  I was
happy to help.  I will think about your request for recommendations
and post any suggestions I come with as further comments on this
question.  The one suggestion that comes to mind from personal
knowledge is that you might well like Tavener's other recordings.  I
own one -- The Protecting Veil -- that is almost hypnotic in its
medieval-like beauty.  As for chants, there are lots of recordings
available these days.  I will look into it and offer you a suggestion
or two.

Thanks again.

markj-ga

I will order "The Protecting Veil" as well as the CD I heard that
inspired the question and if you have any other thoughts, let me know.
 Probably I can use some of the website's (Amazon, etc.)
"recommendation" type services to get some ideas as well.  Thanks
again!  -jp

Would you have a link handy for the recording you mentioned; "The
protecting veil"?  Thanks!

Here's an link to Amazon.com's offering of "The Protecting Veil":

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002SRM/qid=1049829587/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_3/002-0420770-1619267?v=glance&s=classical&n=507846#product-details