Edward Cowie Where the Wood Thrush Forever Sings
Anna Hashimoto (clarinet), Roderick Chadwick (piano) Métier MEX77104
Who knew there was a bird called the ‘Say’s Phoebe’ or the ‘Common Loon’? This two-disc survey of American ornithology is full of characters and each is brought to vivid life by Hashimoto with three different clarinets. Cowie is an endlessly inventive composer and this is a treat. (MB)
Fraser-Simson Settings of AA Milne
Grant Doyle (baritone), John Kember (piano) EM Records EMRCD082-83
Oodles of charm as Fraser-Simson’s inventive melodies are perfectly paired with AA Milne’s whimsical wordplay. Doyle comes off best when singing The Complete Hums of, written from the bear’s perspective; the are painfully twee when sung by an adult. (MB)
