When I was young, Smith was said to be the most common name in the U.S. I don’t know if that’s still the case, but I can state that there are 50 composers with that surname in the Fanfare Archive. If the reader desires to know biographical details of Nicholas Smith, under review here, I refer him to the feature by Maria Nockin in 42:1. He was, at least, beyond my ken prior to the arrival of this CD, and I was intrigued by the fact that he is an Englishman (b. 1967) who has now resided and worked in China for more than half of his life. Indeed, the present Métier CD is clearly marketed to both Western and Chinese audiences, given the fact that not only are the notes in the booklet equally divided between English and Chinese, but the disc contains two otherwise identical performances of this single work for narrator and orchestra, with versions in each language. The near duplication necessarily means that the running time of the disc is effectually half of what is listed in the headnote, apart from the chance that some bilingual purchasers of this CD would find equal satisfaction in hearing the work in two different languages.

I myself stuck with the English one, although I sampled enough of the Chinese version to get the story’s flavor in that language. The Girl from the French Fort is based on a children’s story by well-known Chinese author Hong Ying. The tale involves a curious boy who develops a friendship with a mysterious girl who lives in an old French fort above the Yangtze River. Her seeming magical powers are able to affect the flow of time and perception of everyday realities, all of which is interwoven into a tale of childhood love, loss, and endurance. The piece is akin to a Chinese equivalent to Prokofiev’s ubiquitous Peter and the Wolf (the two works having been performed together on a good number of occasions). Unlike Prokofiev’s iconic work, however, I discerned no overt use of leitmotivs representing various characters, although both a cat and a bird are characters, the latter also cared for by the protagonist, Sangsang.

After a brief narrated introduction, the orchestra enters with a very Chinese-sounding theme that pays obeisance to the pentatonic scale. The narrator continues to unfold the tale, and the very effective music Smith has written to describe and complement the action follows. His skill in achieving a balance of appeal both to children (through its accessibility) and adults (by being rich and deep) matches that of his illustrious Russian predecessor. The story is interesting and well presented by narrator and orchestra alike, and I believe will maintain interest in children of all nationalities. The disc is consequently recommended to anyone who would like to introduce young people to the world of classical music and entertain them in the process. Indeed, I find it one of the better sequels to Peter and the Wolf of the several I’ve heard.