A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LEO:
Classical Music for You and your Cat.
Mozart Symphony No. 5, K21 - Allegro. Divertimento in
G, K138 - Andante. Handel Arrival of
the Queen of Sheba. Dvorák
Serenade, Op. 22 - Moderato. Shostakovich
Ballet Suite No. 1 - Dance. Bach
Oboe Sonata in G minor - Adagio.
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 - First Movement
. Chopin Cello Sonata, Op. 65 - Largo.
Handel Water Music, Suite No. 3 - Minuet;
Gigue. Grieg Holberg Suite, Op. 40 -
Preludium. Vivaldi Winter -
Largo. Puccini Gianni Schicchi - O mio
babbino caro. Scarlatti Sonata
in C, L104. Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel
- Evening Prayer.
Various artists.
Delos DE1616 [ADD/DDD]
[55'28]
Crotchet
Amazon
UK Mid-price
Now here's an idea for recycling back catalogue material (he says, cynically):
follow you kitty around for a day and find a piece of music that fits the
various activities (or lack thereof). The title of the disc confuses the
issue, however, by saying this is classical music for both you and your cat,
thus implying that Tabetha is going to be as thrilled as you are to hear
a movement from Mozart's Fifth Symphony, K22 played by the Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra under James DePriest. Possibly. Although not probably.
All of the tracks are easy-going, so as not to disturb the feline sensibilities.
If I may be allowed to digress on a personal level, I once played some Ligeti
to a cat (well, OK, it happened to be in the same room). It meeowed, hoisted
its tail in the air and left, so I suppose on that showing the Delos team
have done right to play it safe with repertoire…
It is a nice idea to mix well-known excerpts (Beethoven Pastoral,
Puccini's O mio babbino caro and Vivaldi's Four Seasons all
make truncated appearances) with the less well digested fare: the Largo from
Chopin's Cello Sonata, played by Jian Wang is included (this, by the way,
represents the cat sleeping on the windowsill with its tail dangling off
the edge). The Second Dance from Shostakovich's Ballet Suite No. 1 (Moscow
Chamber Orchestra/Orbelian) is another nice touch, representing a spider
being hunted. The final lullaby is the Evening Prayer from Humperdinck's
Hansel und Gretel, unaccountably arranged for flute, oboe and piano.
There is a canine equivalent (the dog is called 'Lucky', by the way) on
DE1617.
Reviewer
Colin Clarke
