posted on 17 Nov 2024

A Symphony of Stories by James Mayhew

I always feel a smile on my face when I receive a review copy of a book by the very special, internationally acclaimed author/ illustrator, James Mayhew. As well as enjoying his books, I am lucky enough to have attended one of his iconic live sessions with an orchestra playing alongside his reading, and chatted with him afterwards. He is an artist who is evidently committed to using his storytelling skills to provide a link with music to inspire young readers. This is the second collection (see a review of the first here) in which he presents six sumptuously illustrated ‘Musical Myths and Tuneful Tales.’ 

His distinctive technique uses hand-printed, patterned papers that he cuts up and assembles as stunning collage pictures. This gives every illustration depth of colour and texture that is really eye catching. I hope that children, parents and teachers might be inspired to try something equally creative. I also hope that each story might be read with the music playing quietly in the background, or afterwards to add that important dimension to the experience. 

The cover shows the magnificent Firebird (apparently one of his favourite musical pieces featured in the book) soaring into a starry purple night sky framed with tree branches, all part of a palette of reds, yellows and gold. The motif is repeated in a more formal wallpaper-like pattern in blue and turquoise on the front-end papers and in orange and yellow at the back of the book. It is this attention to detail that makes this illustrator so impressive. 

I loved all of the stories, some more familiar than others, but will focus on a couple of favourites in a little more detail.

The Four Seasons

In a recent interview, Mayhew explained that this music by Antonio Vivaldi had been accompanied by some sonnets that were also attributed to the composer, which is how he found his way into illustrating each piece.    

The first picture depicting Spring shows the composer out in the fields determined to absorb the rumble of distant thunder and the blossom heavy trees all around him, so that he could translate the experience into a violin concerto:

‘Lying on the sweet grass, under that great sky, the Earth bursting with life, Antonio listened to the birdsong and the trickling brook.’

With the help of a shepherd boy, he tries to capture the scorching heat of Summer and the annoying flies that buzz about them. As the air becomes more humid, a fierce storm arrives flattening the crops and soaking everything. The two are shown running across the fields against lashing rain and windswept skies above. Every turn of the page shows how the text and illustrations contribute to the atmosphere with a pleasing combination of full-page spreads alongside smaller fragments of illustration.

The Sunken Cathedral

I suspect that many readers will be less familiar with this piece by Claude Debussy, inspired by an ancient Breton myth. It tells the magical story of the sunken city of Ys ‘covered in weeds and limpets’ beneath the sea. We learn that the city used to prosper under the rule of a king who built it to please his daughter, the Princess Dahut, because she loved the sea so much. Despite a very high wall to protect her, this young woman became very restless and one day fell in love with a handsome red knight who was visiting the city. She was warned not to pursue the relationship but ignored her wise father and escaped from the city to be with him but forgot to lock the gates. The resulting disaster meant that the waves overwhelmed the city, illustrated by a stupendous double page spread showing her floundering beneath the waves as her father tries to save her.  

I am pretty sure that James Mayhew is already planning another volume, because there are so many more exciting pieces of music to explore and interpret. What a delicious treat to look forward to! I strongly recommend these beautifully illustrated stories published by Otter Barry Books. You will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop and if they don’t have copies on their shelves, they will be happy to order it for you.

 

Karen Argent

November 2024