Various: Nån av varje sort - Sånger för små barn och stora / Various
BIS
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%Aug 06, 2021
People sometimes say that ”there are more people in Sweden who sing in choirs than play football”. Young or old, Swedes do love to sing, and not just at Midsummer celebrations or Christmas concerts – more half a million Swedes turn up to choir practice every week (of course, the choirs have been silenced during the pandemic). The Swedish tradition of nursery rhymes goes way back, but during the 1960s and 70s, the scene was enriched further, helped by children’s programmes on radio and TV. Parents, grandparents and teachers moved on from singing to kids to singing with them, a change of perspective which naturally influenced the new songs being written. Many existing recordings of these songs are made by adults, singing in registers that are difficult for children to sing along to. With decades of experience in working with children, choir leaders at the Adolf Fredrik’s Musikklasser in Stockholm saw the need for one that would encourage kids to sing. They decided to record an album of some very popular children’s songs with their pupils and a five-piece pop band. Behind the micro-phones is Ingo Petry, of award-winning Take5 Music Production, and the result is a disc of children’s songs, sounding just like they should – one that will provide hours of fun for kids of all sizes!
This is one of 3 audio titles based on the Avon Books release the Mozart Effect by author, teacher and musician Don Campbell. Each recording features a collection of some of Mozart's most powerful and affecting compositions selected by the author especially for children aged 2 to 16. Designed to achieve a particular effect, including enhancing IQ, inspiring creativity or exploring movement, each release includes suggestions and guidance on how to use the power of Mozart's music to ensure maximum benefit.
Gershwin's Magic Key / Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra
CHILDREN'S GROUP
CD
$16.99Feb 26, 2021
The first new release in 20 years from the award winning Platinum selling Classical Kids Series, most famous for Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Extra, extra! Read all about it! Step into the streets of 1920s New York City, where a newspaper boy has a chance encounter with the famous composer George Gershwin, and together they explore the many sights and sounds of the city. Gershwin's Magic Key is the first-ever educationally entertaining musical story introducing children to the extraordinary life and musical masterpieces of one of America's greatest composers! An award-winning series that introduces young listeners to Classical music through storytelling, the Classical Kids series of recordings are respected by parents and educators around theworld. The music is magically woven into a 50-minute story as the two actors share their anecdotes and observations based on true incidents from the composer's life. Presenting history, drama, music and fun this engaging album and enhanced audio book is designed to be enjoyed by the entire family. The Children's Group is excited to release the studio recording of the Classical Kids LIVE! Production, Gershwin's Magic Key, featuring the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and including the two actors featured in the original theatrical concert, which premiered with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Classical Kids series has won an unprecedented 6 JUNO Awards for Best Children's Recording, Billboard International Achievement Award, Parent's Choice Awards, iParenting
Roven: The Runaway Bunny; Chappell: Paddington Bear; Kleinsinger
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98Apr 08, 2008
ROVEN The Runaway Bunny.1,3 CHAPPELL Paddington Bear’s First Concert.2 KLEINSINGER Tubby the Tuba2 • Barry Wordsworth, cond; Brooke Shields (nar);1 Stephen Fry (nar);2 Ittai Shapira (vn);3 Royal PO • SONY 22855 (66:42)
What follows may disqualify me as a reviewer of the above. First, I never grew up, and at age 62, I have no intention of doing so. Second, I still occasionally watch an episode Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood solely on the grounds that he likes me just the way I am—one of the most empowering benedictions ever bestowed upon a child of any age. As the father of two grown and quite accomplished daughters who were daily regaled during their formative years by the choicest examples of children’s lit that my late wife, a children’s librarian, could obtain, I am well acquainted with the texts that so eloquently inform this release. The Runaway Bunny is from Margaret Brown’s classic 1942 children’s book of the same title; Paddington Bear’s First Concert is based on Michael Bond’s series of children’s books about a marmalade eating bear “from Darkest Peru”; and Tubby the Tuba is the word-half of the 1941–1945 collaboration between author/actor Michael Tripp and composer George Kleinsinger, which over the years has been successfully disseminated via multiple recordings and film animations, and which has been cited by the Library of Congress in 2006 as a landmark in audio history.
The Runaway Bunny was originally conceived by composer Glen Roven as a piece for solo violin, singer, and orchestra—designed as a vehicle for Israeli violinist Ittai Shapira. In the course of the project’s development, Shapira suggested substituting a narrator for the singer. Given the results, it was an excellent choice that spotlights the powerful eloquence of the seemingly modestly unpoetic words. I found the music coupled with Brooke Shields’s narration deeply moving.
Most of the “audio product” aimed at children which has come across my desk over the years has been plagued by mawkishness, condescension, terminal cuteness—afflictions that most children I know find inherently repulsive. On that topic I recently had a conversation with my eldest daughter, who is currently continuing her anthropological studies of Central Asia on a Fulbright grant in Helsinki. I asked her if she, like me, ever felt embarrassed when adults spoke to us, when we were children, in baby talk. Her answer, “I felt more sorry and embarrassed for the adults than for myself.”
The texts on this release are self-recommending and are delivered by Brooke Shields and Stephen Fry as one ageless human being speaking to another, and in ways that uncannily convey the metaphorically richness of the words. The music is witty, urbane, often ironic, and as sophisticated as all children inherently are until our adult-controlled world succeeds in dumbing them down. The music to The Runaway Bunny proves to be a fine ad hoc violin concerto that highlights Ittai Shapira’s estimable skills.
One of this offering’s agendas is to introduce children to the joys and richness of the symphony orchestra. To put this into a larger perspective, this offering is, in its own way, on the exalted level of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, or Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
The sound is up to the highest of current standards, and the performances by the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Barry Wordsworth show them in fine fettle, as have so many others by him that currently grace my library.
In searching for a way to close this piece, I was tempted to say something to the effect of “recommended to the child in all of us.” Instead I will take my leave by saying that it helps us to respect the child in all of us, especially that which resides in our children.
Realizing that early exposure is key to a lifetime of classical enjoyment, Amelia and pianist Carol Rosenberger (now Delos’ director), made the production of recordings for the very young one of their pet priorities. The resulting Family Classics Series (numbering more than 25 albums) has been hailed by critics and customers alike as the finest and most comprehensive series ever produced for young people. And a key component of this vibrant and varied series is the eleven-disc array of “Baby Needs” recordings. Three of these are being re-released, all with attractive new artwork. “Baby Needs Baroque” (DE 1609) is a varied and charming collection of Baroque-era jewels, selected individually for their “kid appeal.” Similarly, “Baby Needs Beethoven” (DE 1610) and “Baby Needs More Mozart” (DE 1614) offer gentle and accessible selections from their respective composers that are sure to captivate and soothe the spirits of little people … big people too! It’s family listening at its best.
This CD features traditional or new songs interpreted by Marcel Zaragoza to illustrate each of the four seasons : birdsongs, the rain, the snow, school games, summer and vacations. A joyful way to initiate the children to the sound dimension of their life. In French.
Round and Round the Garden: Music in My First Year!
GIA
CD
$13.99Jan 01, 2000
It's all here: bounces, lullabies, songs for tickling and wiggling…music and rhymes from Feierabend's wonderful early childhood books! Each CD combines the very best for each age group from all 5 books—more than 60 selections on each recording, complete with a fully illustrated booklet of lyrics and special directions. All songs are performed with only one voice, guitar and string bass, following Feierabend's philosophy that simplicity in musical accompaniment makes it easier for children to focus on the important melody of the song. With this collection, John M. Feierabend and Luann Saunders present a simple way to make a connection between adult and child and develop a child's imagination, as well as enjoy a wonderful playtime together.
