Berlin is falling asleep

The format is dedicated to lullabies – in all languages spoken and sung in Berlin. In the Year of the Voice, all Berliners are invited to sing their lullabies – familiar ones as well as unknown, traditional or modern ones.

The next public recording sessions will take place:

During the Carnival of Cultures on June 7, 2025, 12:00–7:00 p.m.

• in the community hall of the Evangelical Church in front of Hallesches Tor,
  
• Nostitzstraße 6–7, 10961 Berlin-Kreuzberg
  

As part of the Long Night of Science on June 28, 2025

• 5:30–10:00 p.m. in the Silberlaube of the Free University of Berlin, room JK 24/129,
  
• Fabeckstraße 25, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem
  
• 5:30 p.m.–11:00 p.m. in the Academy Wing of the Berlin State Library,
  
• Unter den Linden 8, 10117 Berlin
  

Workshops and family activities

In cooperation with the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin, the Landesmusikrat offers workshops and programs for parents and educators on the topic of lullabies—to promote singing in the family.

Sing along and find out more

At the Carnival of Cultures on June 7 from 12 noon to 6 p.m., there will be an information stand with sing-along activities in the “Zukunftstraum” area in front of the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek. Here, interested visitors can learn about the project and sing along themselves.

Background

“Berlin schläft ein” (Berlin falls asleep) is an artistic and cultural project of the Berlin State Music Council dedicated to collecting, archiving, and making lullabies accessible – in collaboration with the Berlin Ethnological Museum (Humboldt Forum), the musicology endowed professorship of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation at the Free University of Berlin, and the Endangered Languages Archive at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

The first recording session on February 21, 2025, at the Humboldt Forum was a great success. Over 30 lullabies in 17 different languages have already been recorded – an impressive testament to Berlin's musical and cultural diversity.