REVIEWS
FIVE SONGS FOR CHILDREN
Bloomington Herald-Times, Peter Jacobi
“This listener tends to judge musical settings primarily on the basis of whether the music has added expressive power to the words. That’s not easily come by when the words on this occasion were drawn from the likes of … Amy Lowell, Christina Rossetti, and Edna St. Vincent Millay. In Grier’s Children’s Songs the music seemed to equal or even enhance the texts.”
IAWM JOURNAL
“Although the (Five Songs for Children) were composed over a thirty-seven year period, they are united by a youth freshness and lightness of approach. The piano creates an aural environment for each song, from rolling waves in “The Seashell”, and “Someone” to chirping birds in “The Bluebird”.
Music Web-international
“The Songs for Children do not talk down to the children they are aimed at”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
“Although some of the songs date from 1962 and some from 1999, there is a remarkable stylistic congruence between them….The Five Songs displays an artful simplicity. Try especially the rocking rhythms of The Sea Shell”, or the light-as-a-feather final song “The Bluebird”
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
“For a sense of the composer’s expert use of shifting meters, try “Someone” (Walter de La Mare) in Grier’s Songs for Children. In that moving song, irregular staccato taps at the door become a metaphor for the unknowns in our lives destined to stay unknown forever. A fascinating program and I’m pleased to recommend it. I’m also glad Lita Grier is back on the job and suspect you will be, too. |
WORKS Samples from CD tracks 