New Music Players - The Girl From the French Fort - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Divine Art is delighted to present the February 2026 of The Girl from the French Fort, an enchanting narrated orchestral work by Beijing-based composer and conductor Nicholas Michael Smith based on a children's story by acclaimed Chinese author Hong Ying. Gerry Cornelius conducts the New Music Players, with English narration by Timothy Bentinck, best known for voicing the role of David in BBC Radio 4's The Archers. It will be coupled on the album with a version of the recording narrated in Mandarin by Niki Yan, who has starred in many Chinese and international films and TV dramas.Hong Ying was intrigued by the old barracks she encountered on the banks of the Yangtze River when she was a child and turned it into a story for her own daughter, which has now been published with delightful illustrations by Cherry Denman. Set in 1970s Chongqing, The Girl from the French Fort tells the magical tale of a curious boy, Sangsang, who forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious girl living inside the old French fort high above the Yangtze River. She draws him through ancient doors into a hidden, dreamlike world where time flows differently and everyday realities are charged with wonder and strangeness. What unfolds is a story of childhood, love, loss, and the gentle resourcefulness that helps us endure it all, enjoyable for children and grown-ups alike.Structured in the tradition of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (a work with which it is often programmed), the piece blends narration with orchestral colour to vivid effect-capturing the story and it's shifting emotional landscape. Nicholas Michael Smith has lived and worked in China for over thirty years, and in 2011 was awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to music and to UK-China relations. Among his achievements has been presenting the Chinese premiere of Handel's Messiah and setting up several choirs and orchestra