Natalie Merchant is poised for the release of Leave Your Sleep, her first studio album since 2003’s The House Carpenter’s Daughter. Out April 6 [update: now April 13] on Nonesuch Records, this release is the culmination of seven years’ research and collaboration and is, in Merchant’s words, “the most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined.”

A two-disc set, Leave Your Sleep is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected by Merchant including pieces by both well-known and obscure writers. Featured are works by British Victorians, early- and mid-20th century Americans and contemporary writers as well as anonymous nursery rhymes and lullabies. Among the authors included are Ogden Nash, e.e. cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Robert Graves. Visit the album page for a complete track listing.

In addition to a new method of lyricism, Merchant stretches out musically on Leave Your Sleep by collaborating with a broad spectrum of artists—some old friends, some she has admired from afar—including the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Medeski Martin & Wood, members of the New York Philharmonic, The Klezmatics, Lúnasa and Hazmat Modine. “The sessions were recorded in live ensemble settings to capture a fresh and spontaneous energy,” notes Merchant. “They were some of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had making music.”

Having sold millions of records worldwide over the course of her recording career, Merchant has remained busy in the time since her last studio album by curating compilations for both 10,000 Maniacs’ Campfire Songs and her own Retrospective. Additionally, Merchant performed live to the accompaniment of Philip Glass, Dr. John, Pete Seeger, and Wynton Marsalis and collaborated with British composer Gavin Bryars as part of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works series.