Olivia Colman to feature on a classical music album alongside Michael Morpurgo

Oscar-winner is collaborating with Morpurgo and the Kanneh-Mason family

Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman has announced she is set to appear on a classical music album.

Recorded alongside the Kanneh-Mason family, the album, entitled Carnival , will also feature original poems from acclaimed children’s author Michael Morpurgo.

The Kanneh-Masons are seven siblings, all professional musicians, whose music will be featured alongside poetry readings from Morpurgo and Colman.

Speaking about his musical collaborators, Morpurgo said: “These young people are remarkable, not because they are young, not because they are the seven siblings from one family, but simply because they make magnificent music together, and it is evident they love doing it. 

“Hear them and you know it. See them and you know it.”

Album artwork for 'Carnival', featuring Olivia Colman and Michael Morpurgo (Decca)

Colman and Morpurgo’s readings will be set to the music of the beloved Carnival of the Animals music suite by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The album was recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios, and will constitute the Kanneh-Masons’ first as a family.

Animals also features a cover of Bob Marley’s 1980 classic “Redemption Song”.

The music video for the first single, “Aquarium”, can be viewed on YouTube now. The full album will be released on 6 November 2020.