Midnight Garden is a

collaborative album Collaboration albums — by artists who do not normally work together. For albums featuring artists releasing an album together, but not collaborating on the contents (a split album), see :Split albums. {{CatAutoTOC Albums Albums An albu ...

between

Brad Roberts Bradley Kenneth Roberts (born January 10, 1964) is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies and the only constant member since its inception. He sings in the bass-baritone range. The band is best known ...

of the

Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anchored by Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice, the other band members have fluctuated over the years. Its most prominent line-up consist ...

and singer-songwriter Rob Morsberger.

Background

Morsberger developed serious headaches in 2011 that would eventually be diagnosed as a brain tumor. After Morsberger received surgery for the terminal brain tumor, he was motivated to create as much music as possible before his death. ''Midnight Garden'' would be the second project he would complete before his death. The premiere performance of the song cycle would be at a benefit concert raising money for Morsberger's family and his medical expenses.

Composition

The origins of the album were an unused "pile of lyrics" written by Brad Roberts. The music, composed by Morsberger, is a traditional

song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...

scored for string quartet and piano, with Morsberger and Roberts performing vocals. The song cycle was inspired by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Folk music, folk music during the Romantic music, Romantic period. He wr ...

, and

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

, resulting in a combination of classical and popular music.

Track listing

References

2012 albums {{2010s-rock-album-stub