The intent of the composer in writing these songs was to provide music for young singers to be accompanied by young pianists. The subject matter, the vocal range, and the difficulty of the piano part are appropriate to a student at an elementary level and can serve as an introduction to art song. The style of each song matches the subject matter, so My Sister and Me has a rather playful accompaniment with a short interlude where the big sister looses her patience and sprechstimme, or a combination of speaking and singing, is employed while the pianist bangs random note clusters as if stamping her foot! If Only is a fantasy song with the accompaniment almost like the flapping of the bird’s wings. Le Rouge-gorge Bouge is about a robin, and the accompaniment is based on the actual song of the robin. The song is in both French and English, giving a young student a chance to sing in two languages. The words for If Only, and My Sister and Me were written by Elizabeth Raum, and the words in both French and English for Le Rouge-gorge Bouge were written by her grand daughter, Geneva LaFoy, who was seven years old at the time of writing. The pictures were drawn by Elizabeth’s daughter (and Geneva’s mother), Jessica Raum.
