℗ 2023 Signum Records
Released | September 22, 2023 |
Duration | 1h 06m 59s |
Record Label | Signum Records |
Catalogue No. | SIGCD739 |
Genre | Classical (Vocal) |
1.1
|
Ashita no uta
Makiko Kinoshita; The King's Singers |
3:08 | |||
Nonsense Madrigals
|
|||||
1.2
|
I. Two Dreams and Little Bat
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
2:10 | |||
1.3
|
A Dream within a Dream
Ola Gjeilo; The King's Singers |
7:22 | |||
1.4
|
II. Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
1:35 | |||
1.5
|
Alive
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers; The King's Singers |
4:42 | |||
1.6
|
III. The Alphabet
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
3:28 | |||
1.7
|
I Was There
Joe Hisaishi; The King's Singers |
8:27 | |||
1.8
|
IV. Flying Robert
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
3:00 | |||
1.9
|
Tricksters
Judith Bingham; The King's Singers |
9:43 | |||
1.10
|
V. The Lobster Quadrille
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
1:47 | |||
1.11
|
The Musicians of Bremen
Malcolm Williamson; The King's Singers |
10:14 | |||
1.12
|
VI. A Long, Sad Tale
György Ligeti; The King's Singers |
1:38 | |||
1.13
|
Time Piece
Paul Patterson; The King's Singers |
9:45 |
"It’s an eclectic line-up, showing off the group's stylistic range, as well as their technique…all the madrigals are crisp and right in the groove- a pretty flawless set of sonic experiments and wisecracks."
- Gramophone
Wonderland is full of magic and myth. Containing exclusively works commissioned by The King’s Singers across their 55 years, the album celebrates their trademark musical storytelling, with no shortage of comedy. György Ligeti’s six "Nonsense Madrigals", each setting playful children’s poetry or extracts from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, provide a musical spine to the album, commemorating 100 years since the composer’s birth in 1923.
From just over 50 years ago, the fairytale The Musicians of Bremen (1972) - set to music by the Australian composer and Master of the Queen’s Music Malcolm Williamson sits alongside "Time Piece" (1972) by Paul Patterson, which tells an eccentric alternative creation story. These myth-based works have recent companions such as Judith Bingham’s extended work "Tricksters" (2019), which unearths what could happen if miscreants from different world mythologies could come together for the first time, and Ola Gjeilo’s "A Dream within a Dream" which questions the very nature of perception and reality.
The album also features the legendary Japanese film and game composer Joe Hisaishi’s first ever choral work, "I was there" (2022), focussing on the cultural memory of tragic events such as 9/11 and the 2011 Japan Earthquake. Themes of hope and positivity, centred on the natural world, emerge in Makiko Kinoshita’s "Ashita no uta" (Song for tomorrow) (2020) and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’ "Alive" (2022).
96 kHz / 24-bit PCM – Signum Records Studio Masters
Track title | Peak (dB FS) | RMS (dB FS) | LUFS (integrated) | DR | |
Album average Range of values | -0.51 -1.30 to -0.26 | -21.80 -23.52 to -19.03 | -17.60 -19.60 to -14.80 | 13 11 to 15 | |
1 | Ashita no uta | -0.29 | -19.96 | -16.6 | 11 |
2 | I. Two Dreams and Little Bat | -0.26 | -22.70 | -19.2 | 14 |
3 | A Dream within a Dream | -1.30 | -23.52 | -19.6 | 14 |
4 | II. Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree | -0.26 | -20.74 | -16.3 | 12 |
5 | Alive | -0.47 | -19.03 | -15.7 | 11 |
6 | III. The Alphabet | -0.26 | -21.93 | -17.6 | 13 |
7 | I Was There | -1.30 | -23.01 | -18.5 | 13 |
8 | IV. Flying Robert | -0.53 | -21.00 | -14.8 | 12 |
9 | Tricksters | -0.27 | -21.84 | -18.6 | 14 |
10 | V. The Lobster Quadrille | -0.58 | -22.06 | -17.3 | 13 |
11 | The Musicians of Bremen | -0.29 | -23.14 | -19.2 | 15 |
12 | VI. A Long, Sad Tale | -0.55 | -21.05 | -16.8 | 12 |
13 | Time Piece | -0.28 | -23.45 | -18.6 | 15 |