Five Cats and a Porcupine

Also available: McAlister and Wood: The Lion and the Mouse (Wind Quintet and Narrator); Harris: The Unhappy Aardvark (Wind Quintet and Narrator)

These pieces are ideal for educational work as they all use the concept of musical recognition through a story line. A narrator is essential for the performance here. The Lion and the Mouse is an Aesop fable, quite short and uses thematic material for the characters rather than instrument association. It is very approachable for both players and listeners. In The Unhappy Aardvark the music is used to illustrate the various scenes in the narrative and this piece could be played by a good school quintet. Five Cats and a Porcupine is a more complex work with each cat being depicted by one instrument and the piano filling in the texture. There are demonstration suggestions and as the story is quite captivating this should keep even a younger audience occupied throughout.