This Sunday’s offering from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival would have seemed to be the perfect concert to which to bring the kids. The Mother Goose Suite by Ravel, the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens, Bizet’s Children’s Games and finally a work about Frankenstein made up a program of music clearly intended for a younger audience. But despite the capacity house, children were few and far between. 

Ravel’s Ma Mere l’Oye (Mother Gooose) brought to the stage Music Director and pianist Marc Neikrug and Victor Santiago Asuncion. Though more frequently heard in its later orchestrated version, the work was originally written for piano, 4-hands. The premiere was given by children aged 7 and 10, which only points up Ravel’s genius for simplicity.

Actor John Rubinstein as narrator for The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens recited the quirky Ogden Nash verses, written years later but now forever wedded to the music. A small chamber orchestra led by Jeffrey Milarsky provided just enough color to make the animal portraits come alive. Even mermaids make an appearance with some wonderfully haunting music. Of course, everyone knows the Swan melody, beautifully rendered here by cellist Peter Stumpf, but all instruments took advantage of their moment in the spotlight.

The second half brought back Neikrug, this time with John O’Conor, again for piano, 4-hands, in Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants. Four of the twelve short pieces were eventually orchestrated, but all carry Bizet’s great gift for melodic invention. The Finale, The Ball, was a vivacious whirlwind of dance.

HK Gruber’s Frankenstein!! A Pan-demonium for Baritone Chansonnier and Ensemble sets to music H. C. Artmann’s parody of children’s lyrics which are supposedly “covert political statements.” Besides Frankenstein, the text invokes such disparate figures as Superman, Robinson Crusoe, John Wayne and Goldfinger. An example being, “a john wayne he must have now / two tall boots made for walking / little fist made for hitting / a casket for a basket” (translated from the original German). Gruber, who himself performs the part of chansonnier, uses his highly animated voice in a sprechstimmung (speak-singing) manner, running the gamut from histrionic chanting to mock singing by way of Bela Lugosi impressions, as well as playing a kazoo-like instrument and some sort of a whistle. The fairly large instrumental ensemble has an almost “big brass” sound, thoroughly tonal and melodic in style. An odd, but intriguing work to be sure.

The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival continues through August 20.

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