The Owl and the Pussycat 3'30" Upper voices (unison) or solo voice and piano

Programme Notes

The song is available in the volume, Kaleidoscope, of Boosey and Hawkes as published in August, 2011. (This collection is distinct from Ron's own Kaleidoscope cycle.) The setting here is for upper voices in unison. The key is the same as in the Stone Records recording – the song is thus suited to baritone voice, as in that recording.

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The works gathered together for the Kaleidoscope volume reflect the wide variety of music written for children to sing over the last decades. Benjamin Britten was responsible for taking the treble voice into the concert hall and soon other serious composers were writing for children's voices. This volume reflects this trend and includes music which is bang up-to-date. The music also covers a wide variety of styles and moods, from the frivolous and humorous to the profoundly serious. There is also folk music and popular song, and while some music is challenging in its musical idiom, all of it is accessible.

© Ronald Corp

'The Boosey & Hawkes Concerts for Choirs series is an innovative approach to concert planning for choirs. Each volume contains a wealth of material to help the choral director assemble a concert programme - all from one volume. This anthology draws on the vast Boosey and Hawkes archive and also includes many specially-composed or newly-arranged pieces.

'Kaleidoscope (for upper voices, appropriate both for children's choirs and for adult upper voice choirs) has been compiled by Ronald Corp, famous for his work with the New London Children’s Choir, one of the busiest and most successful children's ensembles in the UK. The title of the volume comes from one of his own works, and the book also contains tried and tested pieces by an exhilarating range of other composers.'