Angèle Dubeau is a household name in Canada and is especially loved by children, who have been exposed in large numbers to her artistry through a television program entitled Faites vos gammes (Practice Your Scales). This Analekta disc, La Ronde des Berceuses, is especially aimed at
Dubeau's youngest fans and, upon its initial release in 1994, proved enormously successful. Apart from original items prepared with this album as the object, La Ronde des Berceuses consists of familiar favorites well known to most who have had more than merely casual contact with the violin. All of the album's selections are presented in brightly colorful arrangements that keep
Dubeau front and center, and in this recording she does draw from the violin a wide range of unusual effects, seemingly to demonstrate to children some of the magical things a violin can do.
Ensemble Amati, led by
Raymond Dessaints, contributes a warm and friendly backing to
Dubeau that reaches into the foreground from time to time; the arrangements introduce some variability into the texture to keep the album from sounding cloying or monotonous.