Wonderland The King's Singers

• Makiko Kinoshita (b. 1956): Ashita no uta:
• 1 Kinoshita: Ashita no uta 03:08
• György Ligeti (1923 - 2006): Nonsense Madrigals:
• 2 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: I. Two Dreams and Little Bat 02:10
• Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978): A Dream within a Dream:
• 3 Gjeilo: A Dream within a Dream 07:22
• György Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals:
• 4 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: II. Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree 01:35
• Francesca Amewudah-Rivers: Alive:
• 5 Amewudah-Rivers: Alive 04:42
• György Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals:
• 6 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: III. The Alphabet 03:28
• Joe Hisaishi (b. 1950): I Was There:
• 7 Hisaishi: I Was There 08:27
• György Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals:
• 8 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: IV. Flying Robert 03:00
• Judith Bingham (b. 1952): Tricksters:
• 9 Bingham: Tricksters 09:43
• György Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals:
• 10 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: V. The Lobster Quadrille 01:47
• Malcolm Williamson (1931 - 2003): The Musicians of Bremen:
• 11 Williamson: The Musicians of Bremen 10:14
• György Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals:
• 12 Ligeti: Nonsense Madrigals: VI. A Long, Sad Tale 01:38
• Paul Patterson (b. 1947): Time Piece:
• 13 Patterson: Time Piece 09:45
• Total Runtime 01:06:59

Info for Wonderland

"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).

The Kings Singers

The King's Singers
Acclaimed worldwide for their virtuosity, life-affirming energy and charm, The King’s Singers are in global demand. Their work, synonymous with the very best in vocal ensemble performance, appeals to a vast international audience. Performing to hundreds of thousands of people each season, the group tours regularly to Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australasia. Instantly recognisable for their immaculate intonation, vocal blend, diction and incisive timing, The King’s Singers are consummate entertainers.

The group’s repertoire has evolved to become one of the most diverse and compelling imaginable. The King’s Singers have commissioned over 200 works, including landmark pieces from leading contemporary composers including Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, Sir James MacMillan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu, Sir John Tavener, Gabriela Lena Frank and Eric Whitacre. They have also commissioned arrangements of everything from jazz standards to pop chart hits, explored medieval motets and Renaissance madrigals, and encouraged young composers to write new scores.

In addition to performing to capacity audiences and creating highly regarded and much-loved recordings, The King’s Singers share their artistry through numerous workshops and masterclasses around the world. In June 2017, the group will host their inaugural U.S. Summer School at DePauw University, Indiana and in July 2017 will return for their 3rd U.K. Summer School at Royal Holloway (part of the University of London) where they are also Ensemble in Residence. Among the work supported by The King’s Singers Foundation, A Carol for Christmas is a composition competition that seeks to encourage young and up-coming composers, giving the winners the chance for their piece to be performed in King’s College Chapel (Cambridge, UK).

Double Grammy® award-winning artists, the group were honoured in 2009 for their Signum Classics release, Simple Gifts, and again in 2012 for their contribution to Eric Whitacre’s Light and Gold album on Universal/Decca. Recently voted into Gramophone Hall of Fame, rave reviews and repeated sell-out concerts confirm that The King’s Singers remain one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.

Booklet for Wonderland