Marita and Her Heart's Desire is a magical, mysterious and funny story of a little girl who believes the moon can grant her heart's desire. She sets off to talk to the moon, which-Marita thinks-is sitting right on the roof of Harper's Department Store. On her way, she is joined by a slinky cat, a no-nonsense rat, a jaunty dog and a helpful mouse, all of whom want their hearts' desires, too. In the end, the moon tells Marita to go home, and she discovers that home is where her heart's desire is, after all.

In addition to the narration by Michele Mariana, and the debut performance of Ariella Perlman as Marita, the musical "characters" in this original fairy tale are performed by musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, now in its 30th anniversary year. This is the first disc for children ever to be recorded by the ensemble. Bruce Adolphe, who has been the Education Director of the Society since 1992, composed the original score. "Marita…has a secret musical agenda for children," says Adolphe. "The score actually contains a lot of counterpoint, which is accomplished by each character's 'theme' being used simultaneously in a group with two or three others," he adds.