Classical reviews: Poulenc and Saint-Saëns

The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant  

Miriam Margolyes, narrator; Simon Callaghan, piano  

Nimbus NI 1571  

★ ★ ★ ★★

Anyone who grew up, as I did, on Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar books will find this CD entrancing. For those unfortunates who missed this experience in their early childhood, Babar was a warm-hearted, public-spirited elephant whose elevation to the throne of a realm suspiciously similar to France, and whose gently socialist leadership of that country in war and peace, was made to seem the most natural thing in the world. Brunhoff was a French children’s book author and illustrator whose wife Cécile concocted the story of Babar as a bedtime treat for her two sons; the first Babar book was published in 1931, and it was followed by six further titles in the series. 

With their charmingly witty drawings, the books became a cult, and the composer Francis Poulenc was one of the army of fans. What we have here, thanks to Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes’s artistry and Simon Callaghan’s excellent pianism, is Poulenc’s delightful musical response. And as I listened to this recording, I found the original drawings reappearing in my mind with all their detail intact – extraordinary. It lasts just 30 minutes, but my god does it resonate.     

Carnival of the Animals  

The Kanneh-Masons  

Decca 485 156  

★ ★ ★ ★★  

Whatever the Kanneh-Masons do, whether it’s solo performances, chamber music, or serenading their neighbours in the street, it’s magic. This remarkably gifted sibling septet has now banded together to create another musical Christmas present for young children: a dramatised performance of Camille Saint- Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals, as well as musical settings for brand-new poems by Michael Morpurgo, read by the author himself, with the help of The Crown actor, Olivia Colman, and a bonus track of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”. 

It seems they always loved Prokofiev’s musical fable Peter and the Wolf, and from there it was but a short step to Saint- Saëns’s zoological fantasy Carnival of the Animals. And although Morpurgo and Colman have added their voices to those of the Kanneh-Masons, this CD is first and last a family collaboration. Sweet, sunny, and vivid the atmosphere may be, but musically every track is top-quality stuff.