Roald Dahl’s ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’

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Danny DeVito - narrator; Joanna Lumley - narrator; Griff Rhys Jones - narrator; Peter Ash - conductor; Taliesin Orchestra; Eleanor Alberga (1949-); © 2011 Orchid Classics; © Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity

Orchid Classics: “SNOW WHITE AND HER AMAZING ORCHESTRA

…Inspired by Dahl’s reshaping of the myth, Eleanor Alberga’s musical treatment of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a jewel of story-telling in sound, revelling in the thrills, wit and madcap humour of Dahl’s dark literary frolic, albeit in a grander, more extravagant sonic landscape. From the very opening – an eerie depiction of a magic forest at night – the music reaches out and draws the listener into a world that is by turns charming, funny, disturbing, terrifying, exciting and joyous. The text provides an entertaining narrative which keeps the story moving forward, but much of the emotional impact of the piece is presented in the eight dances, which form the dramatic spine of the work….

Snow White is a work of compelling beauty and atmospheric intensity that can be enjoyed, like all fairy tales, by anyone with a sense of fantasy and imagination. The music is bold, colourful, and extreme. It is sometimes complex, but that complexity is always connected to the words and the story. A spirit of joy and delight perfumes the entire piece. To listen to it is to go on a bewitching, intoxicating, breathless journey through a world of intense emotional energy and exotic excitement to a conclusion that is utterly life-affirming. Indeed, by the time the Caribbean rhythms and carnival mood of the whirling Celebration Dance take hold of you, it is hard to stop yourself leaping out of your seat and joining in the revelry of our jubilant young heroine and her midget millionaires.”

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“The four-minute orchestral prelude, depicting a magic forest at night, reveals Alberga’s sharp-edged, acute ear for instrumental timbre. The closest parallels are probably with Ravel’s one-act operas, but the idiom is janglier, with liberal usage of piano and percussion. Danny DeVito’s narration is charming, endearingly warm and welcoming… Joanna Lumley and Griff Rhys Jones voice the character parts with brio… Peter Ash conducts a vigorous performance which is fully alive to the score’s angularity and bold colourings…” - Terry Blain, BBC Music Magazine 2012. Read full review here.