# Child's Play



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Christmas time is upon us and I thought I would use this visit in the _Podcast Vault _to not only get us in the spirit of the Season, but also to propose some music that is appropriate for young (and young at heart) music lovers.

There are three main ideas that intermingle in this montage: children, children's tales and (of course) toys. Let's discuss these themes and my selections in no particular order.

*Bizet*'s _Jeux d'enfants_, like *Schumann*'s _Kinderszenen_ and *Debussy*'s _Children's Corner_, is more about children than for children to play. It's a suite of a dozen miniatures, each a minute or two long, evoking the simple games and interests of very young children. Later, Bizet arranged five of those movements for orchestra, producing a light, bright narrative of children's games.

In the repertoire of musical tales for narrator and musical ensemble, we usually hear the _Carnival of the Animals_, or _Peter and the Wolf_, and even sometimes the _Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra_. Francis Poulenc's setting of the original Brunhoff Story of Babar is (I am sad to say) less played. When my Son was 3 or 4 years old, I did take him to a local concert where Peter and the Wolf and Babar were both performed, and Babar (because less played) sounded fresher to me… The montage selection is narrated by Meryl Streep, who does a great job.

Rather than programming the aforementioned Children's Corner, I chose to look at a different piece by Debussy: his _Boite a joujoux _(literally, the toy box). This was originally conceived as a ballet, but it works quite well in the unique storytelling style of soprano and artist Natalie Dessay, in a production that was created a few years back at the _Opera Comique_ in Paris. I scoured YouTuibe in search of an English equivalent, and found this one, for narrator and piano.






The version included in the montage differs a lot from the above take - as it is set in Toyland (rather than in a toy store) and tells of a love triangle between Chou-Chou the doll, a toy soldier (Number 7) and Polichinelle (Pulchinella in the Italian tradition, Punch in the English tradition). Chou-chou loves the soldier, but loves Polichinelle "like a brother", which infuriates the puppet and he literally streals Chou-Chou's heart to make sure she feels no love, and will thus marry him without reluctance. Of course, Number 7 finds Chou-Chou's heart, and the couple marry and live happily ever after.

*Leopold Mozart*'s _Toy Symphony_ and the _March of the Toys _complete the montage.

A nice way to begin the Holidays!

*ITYWLTMT Podcast Montage # 85 - Child's Play
(Originally issued on Friday, December 21, 2012)​*
*Francis POULENC (1899-1963)*
_The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant_ FP 129 
Meryl Streep, English Narration
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta, conducting

*Georges BIZET (1838-1875)*
_Petite Suite_, orchestration of _Jeux d'enfants_, op. 22, nos. 6, 3, 2, 11, and 12
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
Charles Dutoit, conducting

*Victor HERBERT (1859-1924)*
"March of the Toys" from _Babes in Toyland_ (1903)
Philadelphia Orchestra
Eugene Ormandy, conducting

*Claude DEBUSSY (1862 -1918)*
_La boîte à joujoux _(The Toy Box), L. 128
[orchestration completed by André Caplet, 1919)	
Natalie Dessay, French Narration
Ensemble Agora

*Leopold MOZART (1719-1787)*
Cassation in G major for toys, 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings and continuo (ca. 1759)	
Orchestre Symphonique de RTL (Luxembourg)
Leopold Hager, conducting


Original Commentary: http://itywltmt.blogspot.ca/2012/12/montage-85-childs-play-jeux-denfants.html

Detailed Playlist: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/137868534/pcast085--Playlist

Podcat Link (Internet Archive): http://archive.org/details/ChildsPlay_479

Poscast Link (Pod-O-Matic): http://itywltmt.podomatic.com/entry/2014-12-02T00_00_00-08_00 (Link valid until 31 December 2014)


*December 5th 2014, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "Magyar rapszódiák, Part One" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel . Read more on our blogs in English  and in French.*


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