Wonderland: The Alice Sound [download]

150 years after the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, LSO Animateur Paul Rissmann began work on a project that would see the musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra collaborating with young, school-aged singers. Together, they bring to life the story of Alice in a truly enchanting way.

Having set out to discover how Victorian composers represented Carroll’s iconic characters, Rissmann began working with Professor Kiera Vaclavik from Queen Mary University of London. During their research they uncovered a host of sheet music that presented Alice as a quiet, saccharine character—a far cry from the feisty heroine in Carroll’s book.

There were, however, a few exceptions to this, including a short piano piece by Arthur Cleveland. Taking just eight bars of music from this early surviving manuscript, Rissmann began work on a new piece — one that would portray Alice as a determined young soul, as someone inspiring and contemporary.

At the culmination of the project, over 1,000 school children came to the Barbican Concert Hall to sing Lewis Carroll’s words accompanied by the full force of the LSO, and supported by four soloists. This recording, captured at LSO St Luke’s, gives children the opportunity to take part from home.

Composer		Paul Rissmann
Conductor		Lee Reynolds
Performers		Emily Dickens, Joanna Harries, Richard Pinkstone, Neil Balfour, London Symphony Orchestra