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A Musical Zoo

Ashley Riches (bass-baritone), Joseph Middleton (piano)

Awards:

Riches has the versatility to sound at home in any language or musical idiom. He possesses a natural authority that never has to strive for effect, and his warm, supple bass-baritone is eminently...

A Musical Zoo

Ashley Riches (bass-baritone), Joseph Middleton (piano)

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Awards:

Riches has the versatility to sound at home in any language or musical idiom. He possesses a natural authority that never has to strive for effect, and his warm, supple bass-baritone is eminently...

About

A Musical Zoo with Ashley Riches and Joseph Middleton is a veritable tour de force, featuring compositions spanning nearly 160 years, from Schuberts The Trout to Shostakovichs Once there lived a cockroach, and four languages (German, French, Russian, and English). A strong representation of the German Lieder tradition (Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Brahms, and Richard Strauss) is balanced by the French mélodie (Fauré, Ravel) and English lyricism (Ireland, Howells). We humans seem to have an endless fascination with the animal kingdom, and animals have proved an inspiration for artists, composers and writers alike. This recital demonstrates what a rich seam this has proved for a diverse range of composers. Ashley Riches comments: The text [of a song] may outline to us what we see. But the flutterings of Schuberts Birds, the flicking antennae of Shostakovichs Cockroach, the rush of notes with which Ravels Peacock spreads its tail these are movements and energies accessible to music alone.

Contents and tracklist

No. 1, Die Löwenbraut
Track length8:06
No. 11, Der Rattenfänger
Track length2:37
No. 4, An die Nachtigall
Track length2:58
No. 1, Le papillon et la fleur
Track length2:06
No. 1, Le paon
Track length4:33
No. 2, Le grillon
Track length3:08
No. 3, Le cygne
Track length2:59
No. 4, Le martin-pêcheur
Track length2:56
No. 5, La pintade
Track length3:07
No. 8, The Monk and His Cat
Track length2:25
No. 13, The Jelly Fish
Track length0:26
No. 17, The Fly
Track length0:19
No. 4, Our Dog
Track length0:53
No. 3, The Ant
Track length0:23
No. 9, The Pig
Track length0:27
No. 1, The Duck
Track length0:25
No. 19, The Termite
Track length0:32
No. 11, The Calf
Track length0:58
No. 7, The Turkey
Track length0:27
No. 16, The Sea Gull
Track length0:45
No. 12, The Rooster
Track length0:24
No. 14, The Germ
Track length0:59
No. 10, The Centipede
Track length0:30
No. 18, The Firefly
Track length0:50
No. 15, The Sparrow
Track length0:30
No. 2, The Cow
Track length0:49
No. 8, The Kitten
Track length0:38
No. 6, The Mouse
Track length0:34
No. 20, The Pigeon
Track length0:45
No. 5, The Frog
Track length0:29

Awards and reviews

  • Presto Editor's Choice
    February 2021
  • BBC Music Magazine
    May 2021
    Choral & Song Choice

May 2021

Riches has the versatility to sound at home in any language or musical idiom. He possesses a natural authority that never has to strive for effect, and his warm, supple bass-baritone is eminently ‘grounded’...In all, imaginatively plotted and beautifully recorded.

April 2021

Both [Riches] and pianist Joseph Middleton take a robust approach to the animal world, even with Fauré’s butterflies and flowers. But he also effectively floats upper-range notes in Ravel’s more delicate moments.

February 2021

Riches summons a wide range of colours and character for this hugely appealing musical menagerie: Strauss’s Thrush and Fauré’s Butterfly are brought to life with an airy charm, Ravel’s guinea-fowl is properly pugnacious, and there’s plenty of sardonic bite (as well as real Slavic darkness) for Mussorgsky’s Flea and Cockroach; he and Middleton have a ball with Vernon Duke’s Musical Zoo, a series of tiny vignettes delivered with cabaret-esque flair and a pitch-perfect American accent.

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