Musical representations of animals may be as old as music itself, but there are not many song recitals in the genre. This one by bass-baritone Ashley Riches and the reliably good accompanist Joseph Middleton is delightful on many levels and certainly sets a new standard. The album would be ideal for afternoon lectures introducing audiences to art song repertory, and such vivid tunes as Strauss' Die Drossel (The Thrush) will be accessible even to children. However, that song is an example of Riches' tendency to choose songs ...
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Musical representations of animals may be as old as music itself, but there are not many song recitals in the genre. This one by bass-baritone Ashley Riches and the reliably good accompanist Joseph Middleton is delightful on many levels and certainly sets a new standard. The album would be ideal for afternoon lectures introducing audiences to art song repertory, and such vivid tunes as Strauss' Die Drossel (The Thrush) will be accessible even to children. However, that song is an example of Riches' tendency to choose songs with some kind of deeper meaning. Strauss's thrush is "caged" musically, just like the one in the poem he sets, and there are a few grimly serious songs like John Ireland's reworking of the folk song The Three Ravens. Things shake back out to fun in the end, though, with a large set of tiny settings of Ogden Nash poems about animals by composer and pop songwriter Vernon Duke, none more than a minute long and many much shorter. These may be the highlight simply because they're not...
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