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Fairy Tales Folklore & Fables on CD

Fairy Tales, Folklore, & Fables or, Every Ogre is Unique At a time when children are bombarded with images that leave nothing to the imagination, it feels right to play a role in the centuries-old oral tradition of storytelling; listening to stories let's children make their own images. Add music to that (and let it tell it's own, parallel version of the tale) and you have the makings for something pretty interesting. The Philadelphia-based children's music and storytelling troupe Auricolae has performed for thousands of students throughout the Northeast. Audience participation and playful musical dialogue are hallmarks of the presentations and our aim is to introduce young people to the language of music through the telling of stories. The distinct palette available in music for violin, cello and narrator is quite versatile and has led composers down very different paths. In particular, the role of narrator changes depending upon the piece. Sometimes in dialogue with the instruments, other times it is completely separate and, occasionally, it even becomes an instrument in it's own right. The CD begins with Ferdinand the Bull, Munro Leaf's classic story about a peace-loving bull who, resisting the pressure of his peers, prefers to "smell the flowers" over fighting. Curiously, the story was written during the Spanish civil war and was banned in Spain after right-wing groups called it 'subversive." English composer Alan Ridout's (1934-1996) musical setting demands daunting virtuosity from the violinist. Eric Sessler (b.1969) had the inspired idea to compose multiple endings for The Rascally Rogue of the Beanstalk (a.k.a. Jack and the Beanstalk). All three additional endings are included on this recording following the original version of the piece. Robert Capanna's (b. 1952) unique take on Rumpilstilskin treats the narrator as an equal partner in the music-making. Employing sprechstimme, a technique first used by Schoenberg, the narrator weaves complex rhythms in and out of the violin and cello lines. An Adventure at Grannies by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) is a musical dramatization of 'Little Red Riding Hood' in which the instruments assume several character roles and play musical motifs to highlight the text. The Klezmer work Prince Rooster by David Yang (b. 1967) is based on a 19th Century Chassidic folk tale by Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav about a young man with a unique problem and a doctor with a unique solution. Finally, Three Little Pigs was written by Daniel Dorff (b.1956) and contains quotes and references not only to other classical works but to the rhythm of the text itself ("not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin...."). Artistic Director and narrator for Auricolae David Yang is a viola player who has collaborated with members of the Audubon, Borromeo, Brentano, Lark, Muir and Tokyo String Quartets, amongst others. He is also Artistic Director of the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival and founder of the Philadelphia Viola Society and Director of Chamber Music at the University of Pennsylvania. Unholy offspring of a Chinese landscape photographer and Jewish yenta from Brooklyn, David lives in Philadelphia with his daughters, Eliana and Alessandra.