Beastly Tales proves a hit

Roxanna Panufnik had such a happy relationship with the City of London Sinfonia when they worked on her Westminster Mass, that it led to a commission by the orchestra. Because of her friendship with the writer, Virkam Seth, and because she so admired his Beastly Tales from Here and There - a book for both children and the childlike side of grown ups - Roxanna got permission to set one of his tales, The Crocodile an the Monkey. This proved such a success that the orchestra asked for a second tale.

Vikram Seth, of course, is a prize-winning novelist and poet, author of A Suitable Boy and other works that have brought him international acclaim. Roxanna Panufnik has said that it has given her extraordinary pleasure, especially as a mother looking for interesting books for her children, to be involved so closely with the text of the Beastly Tales. For his part, Vikram Seth has indicated his delight at having his work set to music as a kind of Oratorio with solo voices.