The Queen's Six Murder the Songs of Tom Lehrer

In 2020, American songwriter and satirist Tom Lehrer—aged 92 at the time—removed all copyright constraints from his songs. This is one of the first fruits of his largesse, a quite delicious album from The Queen’s Six (who are all members of the Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle). Lehrer’s wonderfully idiosyncratic worldview bursts into life here in such numbers as “The Masochism Tango”, “Poisoning Pigeons” and “Oedipus Rex”—at once naughty, quirky, sophisticated and enchanting. His ever-popular “The Elements” makes an appearance, too, just one of the virtuoso a cappella arrangements by these fine singers. Not a single word escapes their crystal-clear diction.