STORY-PIECES
Family Concert Music
The Wind in the Willows Alice in Wonderland Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
“endlessly inventive, poetic and often very funny”
— Simon Callow
“For me, writing music is always about creating a story - so using three of my favourite classic children's tales as a basis to weave together my own musical entertainments was irresistible, and huge fun to do. The music isn’t written just for illustration - I adapted the texts myself so that the storytelling seamlessly flows between the narration and the ensemble. Their closest cousin is, of course, Prokofiev's Peter & The Wolf, which has delighted audiences for almost a century with its perfectly judged blend of narration and musical illustration. Timeless and universal in their appeal, I hope that Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, and Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh will bring enjoyment to audiences and performers alike for years to come.”
- Richard Birchall
Cellophony and Simon Callow
“Richard Birchall’s delightful entertainment is appropriately nostalgic in style”
— Amanda-Jane Doran, Classical Source
Performance Information
“exquisitely on-point musical portraits”
— BBC Music Magazine
Each designed to work either as a stand-alone concert performance or as part of a fuller programme of music
Opportunities for audience participation
Suitable for families, toddlers and schoolchildren as well as audiences entirely of adults
The Wind in the Willows
Perfect for a family orchestral concert - the natural successor to Peter & the Wolf
for orchestra and narrator:
fl, ob, cl, bn, 2 hn, perc (wood blocks, whip, ratchet), str (6.5.4.4.2 but 3.3.2.2.1 possible)
approx. 40 minutes
Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
(publication coming soon)
for cello octet and narrator
approx. 35 minutes
Alice in Wonderland
for cello octet and narrator
approx. 26 minutes
“I always leap at any opportunity to do these pieces. Audiences adore them”
— Simon Callow
Listen
The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland recorded by Cellophony and Simon Callow
Demo recording of Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
Story-Piece as Children’s Workshop
“Richard Birchall has brought to music the fantasy and humour that are characteristic of the Winnie the Pooh stories. The children listen, of course, but they also take part in Pooh’s game, as he points to his big belly or savours the honey, or they play the very literate and wise owl, or they embody the tiger that jumps around…”
Musicians of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg work with children of Grundschule Am Bahnhof
“The piece is not only a lot of fun for the children, but also for us, with moments of discovering new things, and it’s also great fun music. ”
“I actually really like the Heffalump Waltz because it has a very different character. It was very nice to do everything with the children today and they were very enthusiastic, and 8 cellos, you don’t do that very often. And that was very nice! ”
Feedback
“The combination of actor and musicians has long been appealing to audiences and performers alike, though these pieces rarely make it into the mainstream. I was enchanted when Richard Birchall asked me to give the first London performances of The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland - two of the most memorable stories ever written - while secretly wondering how varied a texture his eight cellos would supply. I was astounded at rehearsals by the vivid, varied, witty, and sometimes haunting sounds he had provided, endlessly inventive, poetic and often very funny. Both pieces perfectly express the essence of their respective stories. But in no sense does the score present a mere backdrop - even physically, the eight cellists are full participants in the story-telling. I always leap at any opportunity to do these pieces. Audiences adore them.”
— Simon Callow, internationally renowned actor
“I have had the pleasure of playing Richard Birchall's orchestral score to The Wind in the Willows. It is first-class music and a wonderful adaptation of this classic story. We had a wonderful reception from all who were present and I feel sure the piece will have a long life.”
— Samuel Coles, Principal Flute, Philharmonia Orchestra
“Whether it was a swinging river waltz, the most beautiful car crash in music history or a cheerful Pooh-party: Everyone involved - young audiences, parents, sound engineers, and, last but not least, the musicians – enjoyed every single bit of the concerts and left the hall all smiles.”
— Christina Ahrens-Dean, Head of Education, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg
Reviews
“The much-loved children’s classic Wind in the Willows still weaves its magic of life on the riverbank. Richard Birchall’s delightful entertainment is appropriately nostalgic in style with homage to Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and musical hints of Stravinsky and Janáček and is evocatively scored to illustrate the watery realm, the Wild Wood and Mr Toad’s turbulent adventures. Kings Place was packed with tiny people, accompanied by parents and grandparents. Their response was excited and rapt for a scene teeming with insect, animal and bird life, cleverly illustrated by the orchestra, and Simon Callow perfectly judged all that he did. The Wild Wood is particularly impressive with a swirling, menacing Waltz which recurs during the battle for Toad Hall. Mr Toad’s raucous exploits behind the wheel are highlighted by the horns, and the ensuing drama is conveyed in thrilling voice by Callow...”
— Amanda-Jane Doran, Classical Source
Philharmonia Orchestra and Simon Callow
Kings Place, June 2018
“These two wonderfully whimsical 'musical stories' for eight cellos and narrator are characterfully performed by Cellophony. Richard Birchall's exquisitely on-point musical portraits are helped along by delightful narration by actor Simon Callow.”
— BBC Music Magazine 2017 on Cellophony CD release
“Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland contains many strange sights and creatures, but there's one phenomenon the intrepid author forgot: the cello octet. Cello octets are rarely spotted in the concert hall, partly because there's not much music for them to eat. Yet Britain has a splendid specimen in Cellophony, and here they were in this pleasant concert repairing Carroll's omission in Alice in Wonderland, a very engaging 25 minute romp written to mark the book's 150th anniversary by the group's founder Richard Birchall. In four incisive, witty movements, the cellos conjured the White Rabbit's hurrying, a waltzing Alice, the caucus race, the Mad Hatter's tea party and the Mock Turtle’s musings through notes alone. In five others they chipped in with underscoring while Simon Callow narrated a miniature version of Carroll's text, speckled with delicious impersonations (loved that lazy Cheshire Cat). The undoubted highlight was the animal round-up in A Pool of Creatures, a jostling collection of musical impersonations quoted from Schubert, Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns and others, each transferred with dashing finesse to the ensemble's sound. Fully at home in the cello's world, Birchall brilliantly exploited the instrument's facets, from autumnal melancholy and comic surprise to the percussive effect of scurrying fingers tapping the wood…”
— Geoff Brown, The Times 2015 on Alice in Wonderland London premiere