Monday, 13 April 2009

• The Shoe Bird

  

  Captivating on all fronts, The Shoe Bird is an entertaining and eductional way to spend an hour with a child or friend.  This musical fable is based on an 1964 novella of the same name by Eudora Welty.  Samuel Jones's adaptation for orchestra and choir invigorates the tradition of storytelling fun for the whole family.

   

   

  Arturo, the parrot, is the main character and he drew me into the story immediately, because (as parrots do) he repeated exactly what he heard and passed on the words without understanding their meaning.  Gloria, the goose aka gossip, aids Arturo in his mission to adorn birds with shoes.  And all the while, Minerva, the wise owl, tries to shed light on the situation, a total comedy of errors.

  There are a host of other characters (birds) complete with cute names and sounds, like Freddie the preyful cat.  I do enjoy the way instruments can imitate the sounds and songs of animals.  After all, Carnival of the Animals is one of my favorites.  Peter and the Wolf, a close second.  And The Shoe Bird deserves the same type of recognition.

  Give it as a gift, buy one for yourself.

  Just listen.

  And learn.

   

  By the way, today is Miss Welty's 100th birthday.  There are celebrations all around.

  Here's a link to mine.

  Currently Shoe Bird (Jewel Case Edition), The see related

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