THE LITTLE FOX AND OTHER MONGOLIAN FOLKTALES – Concept Recording (SimG Records – SimGR-CD037)
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Little Fox and Other Mongolian Folktales is a two-act children’s folk opera with book, music and lyrics by Andrew Fisher. It intertwines four tales with Mongolian folk musical melodies, Mongolian instruments and techniques, and combines them within a western popular musical sensibility. The stories selected, which feature across a range of published Mongolian folk legends, include The Wise Judge, The Fool And The Moon, Why The Camel Rolls In The Ashes and The Faithful Little Fox.
At first I was a little daunted by the amount of tracks on this CD – 29 of them! For a children’s show I thought that was possibly a little over the top, but now I am in two minds. On the one hand, the tracks are all beautifully written and conjure up the spirit of the folktales involved but, on the other hand, I still think that maybe, for a staged production, they could be reduced. However, that is getting way ahead of ourselves as this is merely the concept recording. And a very unusual but welcome one at that.
The songs are combined to make up a whole narrative out of different folk legends. Although the stories flit back and forth you are certainly not left in the least bit confused as the piece is put together in such a way that it is very easy to follow what is happening throughout.
I don’t know what Mongolian music sounds like but, to the Western ear, this could possibly be the real thing. The fact that it is recorded in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, and with a full Mongolian cast just adds to the authenticity of the recording. The orchestra includes cultural instruments such as Tsuur, Yatga, Moorin Huur, alongside the more usual western instruments such as violin, cello, etc. That, combined with exquisite voices and harmonies – this is one very special album.
The physical album comes complete with a 32-page full colour booklet including synopsis and lyrics and it will be available to download in early 2021. For more information, go to www.SimGProductions.com.
Nick Wakeham
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