The Kanneh-Masons – Carnival of the Animals (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Decca Classics announces the release of Carnival, a very special collaboration between Academy Award-winning actor Olivia Colman, children’s author Michael Morpurgo and the seven “extraordinarily talented” (Classic FM) Kanneh-Mason siblings – Isata, Braimah, Sheku, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata and Mariatu.

Recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, the release includes new poems written by War Horse author Morpurgo to accompany French composer Saint-Saëns’ beloved musical suite ‘Carnival of the Animals’. The poems are read by the author himself, joined by The Favourite actor Colman, and guest musicians complete the ensemble for the suite.

On working with the Kanneh-Masons, Morpurgo says, “These young people are remarkable, not because they are young, not because they are the seven siblings from one family, but simply because they make magnificent music together, and it is evident they love doing it. Hear them and you know it. See them and you know it.”

Along with Colman’s readings interposing the humorous suite ‘Carnival of the Animals’, which represents different animals through descriptive musical motifs, the recording features Morpurgo’s heart-warming Grandpa Christmas story, set to music for the first time with classic tracks including ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ and ‘Sea Murmurs’. Morpurgo reads the role of Grandpa, with the youngest Kanneh-Mason, Mariatu, reading his granddaughter.

Carnival is the debut recording for youngest sisters Konya, Jeneba, Aminata and Mariatu. It includes a new arrangement of Eric Whitacre’s ‘The Seal Lullaby’ featuring all seven siblings, aged between 11-24. There is also the Kanneh-Masons’ own arrangement of Bob Marley’s iconic hit ‘Redemption Song’, marking 40 years since its release in 1980 – fewer than five years before the singer’s death.

The stunning artwork for Carnival has been specially commissioned from children’s illustrator Emma Chichester Clark, who has created a colourful storybook world featuring vibrant birds, friendly kangaroos, curious elephants and all seven of the Kanneh-Mason siblings – depicted, of course, with their instruments.

Tracklist:
01. The Kanneh-Masons – Preamble (01:13)
02. The Kanneh-Masons – Introduction and Royal March of the Lion (00:37)
03. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion (02:13)
04. The Kanneh-Masons – Hens and Roosters (00:58)
05. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Hens and Roosters (00:49)
06. The Kanneh-Masons – Wild Donkeys Swift Animals (or Make What You Like of That) (01:03)
07. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals: Wild Donkeys Swift Animals (00:33)
08. The Kanneh-Masons – Tortoises (01:38)
09. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Tortoises (02:18)
10. The Kanneh-Masons – The Elephant (00:50)
11. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: The Elephant (01:38)
12. The Kanneh-Masons – Kangaroos (00:53)
13. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Kangaroos (00:59)
14. The Kanneh-Masons – Aquarium (or I Have a Friend) (01:07)
15. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium (02:46)
16. The Kanneh-Masons – Characters with Long Ears (01:13)
17. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Characters with Long Ears (00:45)
18. The Kanneh-Masons – The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods (01:24)
19. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods (02:13)
20. The Kanneh-Masons – Aviary (00:53)
21. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Aviary (01:10)
22. The Kanneh-Masons – Pianists (or Who Sings Best in the Bath) (01:11)
23. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Pianists (01:37)
24. The Kanneh-Masons – Fossils (or Doing the Brontosaurus) (01:02)
25. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Fossils (01:18)
26. The Kanneh-Masons – The Swan (01:12)
27. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: The Swan (02:30)
28. The Kanneh-Masons – Finale (00:48)
29. The Kanneh-Masons – Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals: Finale (01:57)
30. The Kanneh-Masons – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Suite), Op. 71a: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Arr. Langer) (01:53)
31. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: Every Year at Christmas… (01:21)
32. The Kanneh-Masons – Béla Bartók: 44 Duos for Two Violins, Sz. 98: Maypole Dance (00:44)
33. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: To My Little Granddaughter Mia… (01:11)
34. The Kanneh-Masons – Béla Bartók: 44 Duos for Two Violins, Sz. 98: Mosquito Dance (00:36)
35. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: I Sat There Watching You… (01:07)
36. The Kanneh-Masons – Edvard Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op. 43: 4. Little Bird (01:26)
37. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: Just to See You Digging There… (01:08)
38. The Kanneh-Masons – The Flight of the Bumble-Bee (Arr. Rachmaninov) (01:08)
39. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: If I Have Learnt One Thing… (02:26)
40. The Kanneh-Masons – Sea Murmurs (Arr. Heifetz) (01:49)
41. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: I Wish for You a World Where the Elephant and the Lion… (01:22)
42. The Kanneh-Masons – Béla Bartók: 44 Duos for Two Violins, Sz. 98: Maypole Dance (00:42)
43. The Kanneh-Masons – Grandpa Christmas: When the Reading Is Over… (00:29)
44. The Kanneh-Masons – The Seal Lullaby (Arr. Parkin) (03:38)
45. The Kanneh-Masons – Redemption Song (Arr. Kanneh-Mason) (03:53)