January 3, 2018

  • A Delightful Little Children's Narrative Work

     Reese: The Mitten

    Mona Lyn Reese, narrator (English version)
    Daniel Helfgot (Spanish version)
    Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra/Petr Vronsky
    Navona Records 6132
    Total Time:  32:12
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    In this unique release from Navona records, listeners can explore the subtleties of language as well as how musical accompaniment creates a supportive dramatic flow.  Mona Lyn Reese’s “The Mitten” was commissioned by the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra for their Kinder Konzerts.  The basis of the story is the Ukrainian folktale of the same name.  Like Prokofiev’s more familiar “Peter and the Wolf”, Reese’s work assigns specific instruments to each animal character of the store.  These instrumental colors are bookended by “The Wind” music which features interesting percussive effects to set the stage for the cold winter’s day.  The music overall is quite accessible and appropriately descriptive with excellent animalistic descriptiveness that works very well (the fox even has some jazzy inflections).  The style is reminiscent of a bit of Argento or Menotti with the gentle dissonances reminiscent of Shostakovich film music style.  The orchestra certainly seems to enjoy the music and that helps create a very delightful atmosphere.

    The album opens with Reese narrating the story in English.  A Spanish version is at the center.  The music itself is then presented as an instrumental suite.  This allows for a chance to hear the music a bit better, though the narration tends to get out of the way of the music fairly well.

    The release is pretty brief, which is only unfortunate in that Reese’s music is so engaging and one does wish for a bit more of it.  That said, perhaps exposure of this delightful little work can encourage its being a delightful dessert coupling to the more familiar children’s music for orchestra releases.