When You Wish Upon a Star: 100 Years of Disney Songs

by The King's Singers

Overview

It is hard to find a dud among the more than 50 years of recordings by the King's Singers, but this 2023 release, marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of Walt Disney Studios, is among the more ambitious of the bunch. It didn't have to be; the match of the Singers' pop inflections with Disney material was perfect to begin with, but there is more. The group commissions fresh arrangements from a variety of composers, several of them quite well-known (John Rutter makes an appearance), and they offer fresh angles on familiar songs. Try the rather ruminative Bare Necessities. Moreover, the Singers line up world-class guest stars, including mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary, and these get into the spirit of the recording. Best of all, the album succeeds satisfyingly in its aim of paying tribute to the music of Disney. The songs date back to Someday My Prince Will Come, from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but most are quite contemporary, and they show the remarkably unified thread that runs through the studio's musical productions. This thread is one that rock (Phil Collins, in On My Way) and country (Roger Miller, in the delightful "Not in Nottingham") songwriters have adapted themselves to. In short, this is a King's Singers release that is splendidly listenable from start to finish. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2023
Label:	Warner Classics
UPC:	5054197367403
Rank:	20846

Tracks

1. When You Wish Upon a Star (for Disney's Pinocchio)
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame~The Bells of Notre Dame
3. Part of Your World (for Disney's The Little Mermaid)
4. Once Upon a Dream (for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty)
5. Mulan~I'll Make a Man Out of You
6. Someday My Prince Will Come (for Disney's Snow White)
7. Colors of the Wind (from the film "Pochahontas")
8. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, song (for the film Mary Poppins)
9. Let It Go, song (from the film "Frozen")
10. The Bare Necessities, song (for the 1966 film "The Jungle Book")
11. Robin Hood~Not in Nottingham
12. Go The Distance (for Disney's Hercules)
13. On My Way (from Disney's Brother Bear)
14. Beauty and the Beast~Gaston
15. Cruella de Ville (for the animated film 101 Dalmations)
16. When I See An Elephant Fly (from Disney's Dumbo)
17. The Second Star To the Right (for Disney's Peter Pan)
18. The Princess and the Frog~When We're Human
19. You've Got a Friend in Me (for Toy Story)
20. Aladdin~Prince Ali
21. Remember Me, song (from the film "Coco")
22. Aloha, e Komo Mai (from Lilo & Stitch: The Series)
23. Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (from Disney's The Aristocats)
24. Bella Notte (for Disney's Lady and the Tramp)
25. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? (for Disney's The Lion King)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The King's Singers   Primary Artist,Vocal Ensemble
Pene Pati   Tenor (Vocal)
John-Paul Ekins   Piano
Lucienne Renaudin Vary   Trumpet
Edgar Moreau   Cello
Plinio Fernandes   Guitar
Amina Edris   Soprano (Vocal)
Joyce DiDonato   Soprano (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Ben Parry   Producer
The King's Singers   Liner Notes
Sammy Fain   Composer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Anne Schneider   Liner Note Translation
Jim Clements   Arranger
Erik Jordan   Editing
Daniel Fesquet   Liner Note Translation
Ali Olmo   Lyricist
Alexander L'Estrange   Arranger
Alain Lanceron   Executive Producer
Robert Lopez   Composer
Kristen Anderson-Lopez   Composer
Jamey Ray   Arranger
Nicholas Ashby   Arranger
Toby Young   Arranger
James Ray   Arranger
Ned Washington   Composer
Phil Collins   Composer
Richard M. Sherman   Composer
Tim Rice   Composer
Randy Newman   Composer
Peggy Lee   Composer
Alan Menken   Composer
Al Rinker   Composer
Danny Jacob   Composer
John Rutter   Arranger
Toby Wood   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
George Bruns   Composer
Stephen Schwartz   Composer
Sonny Burke   Composer
Elton John   Composer
Floyd Huddleston   Composer
Matthew Wilder   Composer
Mel Leven   Composer
Oliver Wallace   Composer
Terry Gilkyson   Composer
Jack Lawrence   Composer
Larry Morey   Composer
Christopher Bruerton   Arranger
Roger Miller   Composer
Frank Churchill   Composer
David Zippel   Composer
Nico Muhly   Arranger
Howard Ashman   Composer
Robert B. Sherman   Composer
Leigh Harline   Composer
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky   Original Material