Song

by Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Overview

The territory mined here by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason will be familiar to admirers of his pre-pandemic debut album, Inspiration, and listener reactions to this 2022 release will probably be determined largely by that similarity and by the listener's attitude toward the high-flying Kanneh-Mason family in general. Sheku continues to generate a remarkably warm tone, brought out right at the beginning with the traditional Irish tune Star of County Down. He involves sister Isata Kanneh-Mason, and the pair achieve the much-sought-after sibling chemistry in a pair of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. There are guest stars from both the classical and pop worlds, including a fresh pop song by Sheku and Zak Abel, and there is a very strong set of five brief, instrumentally idiomatic preludes for solo cello by composer Edmund Finnis, said to have worked closely with Kanneh-Mason on their composition. The program is claimed to be personal; it is not clear exactly what that means, but the music certainly is eclectic and designed to draw in listeners from various backgrounds. Kanneh-Mason has nothing to prove in traditional repertory; he earned his Young Musician of the Year award playing Shostakovich, but one might wonder where he is going when the spotlights begin to dim. The final delicate, knowing version of Bacharach and David's I Say a Little Prayer is wonderful. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	09/09/2022
Label:	Decca
UPC:	0028948531691
Rank:	8140

Tracks

1. Star of the County Down
2. Myfanwy
3. Lullaby for Kamila
4. Bachianas brasileiras No. 1~Prel¿¿dio (Modinha) W.246/2
5. 12 Variations Op. 66 for cello & piano on "Ein M¿¿dchen oder Weibchen" from W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberfl¿¿te
6. Song without Words No. 25 Op. 62/1
7. Song without Words for cello & piano Op. 109
8. 20 M¿¿lodies Vol. I No. 1~¿¿l¿¿gie
9. Mavra~Chanson russe
10. Come, Sweet Death BWV 478
11. Quartet for the End of Time~Louange ¿¿ l'¿¿ternit¿¿ de J¿¿sus
12. Saviour of the Nations, Come BWV 659
13. Cry Me a River
14. Falling in Love Again
15. Preludes I-V for solo cello~Prelude 1
16. Preludes I-V for solo cello~Prelude 2
17. Preludes I-V for solo cello~Prelude 3
18. Preludes I-V for solo cello~Prelude 4
19. Preludes I-V for solo cello~Prelude 5
20. Same Boat
21. I Say a Little Prayer

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sheku Kanneh-Mason   Primary Artist,Cello
Ben Davies   Cello
Desmond Neysmith   Cello
Hannah Roberts   Cello
James Baillieu   Piano
Pumeza Matshikiza   Soprano (Vocal)
Max Ruisi   Cello
Zak Abel   Vocals
Isata Kanneh-Mason   Piano
Harry Baker   Piano

Technical Credits

Ollie Ali   Photography
Olivier Messiaen   Composer
Jonathan Allen   Mixing,Editing,Engineer
Tomasz Lato   Composer
Simon Parkin   Arranger
Jerzy Bawol   Composer
Friedrich Gruetzmacher   Arranger
Joseph Parry   Composer
Dimitry Markevitch   Transcription
Kathryn Enticott   Management
Tomasz Kukurba   Composer
Dominic Fyfe   Executive Producer
Edmund Finnis   Composer
Zak Abel   Composer
George Oulton   Assistant Engineer
Stefanie Schlatt   Liner Note Translation
Traditional   Composer
Nigel Kennedy   Composer
Jules Massenet   Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach   Composer
Mark Rogers   Engineer
Felix Mendelssohn   Composer
Igor Stravinsky   Composer,Transcription
Ludwig van Beethoven   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Ronan Phelan   Assistant Engineer
Friedrich Hollaender   Composer
Heitor Villa-Lobos   Composer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Simon Gibson   Mastering
Joanne Baines   A&R
Francis Marchal   Liner Note Translation
Sheku Kanneh-Mason   Arranger,Composer
Joseph Chadwick   Management
Jenny Stewart   Marketing
Jade Powell   Marketing
Freya Parr   Liner Notes
Harry Baker   Arranger
Paul Chessell   Cover Design
Kroke   Composer