Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre has held programs for parents and children in the past, but the Maternity Concert is the first attempt at staging music for pregnant women and their developing babies.

The original idea came from Kobayashi, a soprano signer who became a mother herself a year and a half ago.

Looking back, she says, “The first year after having my child was completely filled with taking care of the baby. I had more free time when I was pregnant.”

The delicate sounds of the lute performed by Takashi Tsunoda accompanied Kobayashi’s voice, helping to inspire the concert mood. A popular instrument throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries over the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the lute was an important element in the theatrical music poet and playwright of the time, Shakespeare.

The concert featured such songs as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, a favorite of Kobayashi’s child, and “Lavender’s Blue”, one of her own nostalgic favorites. Toru Takemitsu’s “Meguriai – The Encounter” is a song that reminisces about encounters with all types of people, including lovers, friends, and family. When Kobayashi was pregnant, the song spoke to her about the child she was about to meet.

An audience member due to give birth in June said, “I’m not usually thinking of prenatal educations every moment, but today the baby and I enjoyed this experience together.” This was a concert that reminds one of the power music has to uplift.