{"id":39419,"date":"2024-02-19T16:11:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T15:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4a9ba293-f2fb-4f5e-a919-d8cbf43f230a"},"modified":"2024-02-19T16:41:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T15:41:17","slug":"birdsong-in-classical-music-how-birds-have-influenced-and-inspired-the-great-composers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/birdsong-in-classical-music-how-birds-have-influenced-and-inspired-the-great-composers\/","title":{"rendered":"Birdsong in classical music: how birds have influenced and inspired the great composers"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Rebecca Franks\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 19 February 2024 at 15:11 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Composers have always turned to the natural world for inspiration, but of all the creatures great and small that have had their voices set to music there are none quite as popular as the bird. With many species and unique calls, there’s a long tradition of birdsong in classical music. Whether it’s a cuckoo call or the warble of a nightingale, here are some of the best examples of birdsong in classical music. <\/p>

Classical music inspired by birdsong<\/h2>

1. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending (1914)<\/h3>
A silvery solo violin line flutters and darts, reaching up ever higher above the orchestra’s hushed, held chord. There’s no other opening quite like it for instant atmosphere, as Vaughan Williams<\/a><\/strong> deftly depicts a lark as ‘he rises and begins to round’. <\/p>
Four of the best recordings of Vaughan Williams\u2019s The Lark Ascending<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Completed in 1914, the British composer’s pastoral romance for violin<\/a><\/strong> and orchestra<\/a><\/strong> is an evocation of the ‘seraphically free’ song of the skylark, inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same name. Its purity and grace give it a timeless quality, and it’s become one of the most well-known of classical works. We named it one of the best pieces of violin music ever<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>Tasmin Little, BBC Philharmonic\/Andrew Davis<\/strong> <br\/>Chandos CHAN10796<\/strong><\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/lark-ascending-2\/\">Read our full review of this recording here<\/a><\/strong> <\/p><div class=\"wp-block-purple-m101-price-comparsion\"><div class=\"m101\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-template=\"default\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Ascending-Tasmin-Little-Philharmonic-Chandos\/dp\/B00FNY1HDC\/\" data-title=\"\" data-config=\"{\" searchkeywords=\"\" the=\"\" lark=\"\" ascending=\"\"\/><\/div><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Ascending-Tasmin-Little-Philharmonic-Chandos\/dp\/B00FNY1HDC\/?tag=classicalm05c-21&ascsubtag=classicalmusic-122882\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hive.co.uk\/Product\/Tasmin-Little-The-Lark-Ascending\/15459534\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy from Hive<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/album\/vaughan-williams-the-lark-ascending\/731630502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stream on Apple Music<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>Read our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/vaughan-williams-reviews\/\"> reviews of the latest Vaughan Williams recordings <\/a><\/strong><\/p>Find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/vaughan-williams\/\">Vaughan Williams and his works here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-respighi-the-birds-gli-uccelli-1928\">2. Respighi: The Birds (Gli Uccelli) (1928)<\/h3> A real-life nightingale, well, a recording of it at least, appears in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ottorino-respighi\">Respighi<\/a><\/strong>‘s 1924 Pines of Rome<\/em>. And the song of the nightingale also puts in an appearance in his neo-classical suite, The Birds<\/em>, in which birdsong meets Baroque, as written for a 20th-century orchestra. <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-recordings-respighis-pines-rome\">The best recordings of Respighi’s Pines of Rome<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul> The five-movement work also features a dove (La colomba), with a heartfelt oboe melody inspired by Jacques de Gallot, and the familiar call of the Cuckoo (Il Cuc\u00f9). And if the chirpy Hen movement (La gallina) sounds familiar, that might be because it’s based on the same Rameau harpsichord work (The Hen<\/em>, or La poule<\/em>) that inspired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/camille-saint-saens\">Saint-Sa\u00ebns<\/a><\/strong> for his ‘Hens and cockerels’ movement in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-saint-sa-nss-carnival-animals\">Carnival of the Animals<\/em><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Respighi: Gli uccelli, suite per piccola orchestra \/ Pohunek \u00b7 Academic Chamber Soloists Prague\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vZ1qOBf_JQg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>London Symphony Orchestra\/Antal Dorati <\/strong><br\/>Soundmark Records 48229<\/strong> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Respighi-Brazilian-Impressions-Presence-Recordings\/dp\/B004PBUWV2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul> Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/respighi-reviews\">reviews of the latest Respighi recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/p>Find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/respighi\">Respighi and his works<\/a><\/strong><\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-classical-music-spring\">The best classical music for spring<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-classical-music-inspired-autumn\">The best classical music inspired by autumn<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-rautavaara-cantus-arcticus-1972\">3. Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus (1972) <\/h3> Why imitate birds in music when you can use the real thing? <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/einojuhani-rautavaara\">Rautavaara<\/a><\/strong>‘s ‘concerto for birds and orchestra’, as it’s subtitled, uses taped birdsong throughout, taking Respighi’s idea one step further.<\/p>The Finnish composer headed off on a field trip to near the Arctic Circle (hence the title) and to the marshlands of Liminka in Northern Finland to record the calls of a whole host of birds. Listening to it is like stepping into an avian paradise, with the melancholy song of the shore larks as unforgettable as the migrating whooper swans. The bird calls are juxtaposed with a lush orchestral score.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rautavaara : Cantus Arcticus (Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France \/ Mikko Franck)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8X2FU1KU4_U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>Laura Mikkola (piano), Royal Scottish National Orchestra\/Hannu Lintu<\/strong> <br\/>Naxos 8554147<\/strong> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-classical-music-night\">The best classical music for the night<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-jonathan-harvey-bird-concerto-with-pianosong-2003\">4. Jonathan Harvey: Bird Concerto with Pianosong (2003)<\/h3>‘Indigo bunting, orchard oriole, golden crowned sparrow – these are some of the 40 colourful Californian birds whose songs and cries sparked the ignition of this work as I started it in the brilliant light of California,’ explained the British composer Jonathan Harvey.<\/p>In some ways, his Bird Concerto with Pianosong<\/em> makes a contemporary companion piece to Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus<\/em>. It opens with recorded birdsong, which is used in dialogue with the piano and chamber orchestra, echoing Rautavaara.<\/p>But Harvey’s use of electronic instruments (the pianist is also in charge of the birdsong samples on synthesiser) adds another dimension to the composition, as the calls are gradually transformed over the piece’s half-hour stretch.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jonathan Harvey Bird Concerto with Pianosong (2001)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0b4Y8i1PuYM?start=252&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>Hideki Nagano (piano), Gareth Hulse (oboe) & Sound Intermedia (live electronics), Paul Archibald (trumpet) & Sound Intermedia (live electronics), Tim Gill (cello) & Sound Intermedia (live electronics), London Sinfonietta\/David Atherton<\/strong> <br\/>NMC NMCD177<\/strong> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/six-best-pieces-classical-music-summer\">The best classical music inspired by the summer<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-classical-works-about-scotland\">Six of the best classical works about Scotland<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-elgar-owls-1907\">5. Elgar: Owls (1907)<\/h3> One of the stranger pieces inspired by birds, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/edward-elgar\">Elgar<\/a><\/strong>‘s Owls<\/em> is the fourth and final of a set of part-songs – and perhaps another of Elgar’s enigmas. Dedicated (somewhat improbably) to his daughter Carice’s Angora rabbit Peter, it sets a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bachlund.org\/Owls_an_Epitaph.htm\">text that Elgar wrote himself<\/a><\/strong> and which seems to raise many more questions than it answers.<\/p>It talks of little more than dead leaves falling and rustling, and a crying ‘wild thing hurt in the night’. ‘What is it? \u2026 Nothing’, the refrain echoes, adding to the sense of unease created by the odd harmonies and sparse textures. ‘It is only a fantasy and means nothing,’ said the composer, ‘it is in a wood at night evidently and the recurring “Nothing” is only an owlish sound’.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Elgar - Owls, Op. 53\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pQ_rfwUBJQY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>Gabrieli Consort\/Paul McCreesh<\/strong> <br\/>Signum SIGCD490<\/strong> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-choral-music-easter\">The best choral music for Easter<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-messiaen-le-merle-noir-1952\">6. Messiaen: Le merle noir (1952)<\/h3>And finally we turn to the master of musical ornithology. The 20th-century French composer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/olivier-messiaen\">Messiaen<\/a><\/strong> became an expert at notating birdsong, ranging from those heard in his home country to those on his travels, as far away as New Zealand. These meticulously notated calls found their way into much of his music, including the Catalogue d’Oiseaux <\/em>(1950s) for solo piano and the 1953 R\u00e9veil des oiseaux<\/em>.<\/p>But the piece that set him off on his avian adventure was Le merle noir<\/em>. Written in 1952 as an audition piece for the Paris Conservatoire, this flute and piano work captures the song of the blackbird.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Olivier Messiaen - Le Merle noir (1952)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cwDmDTjrBNA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure>Recommended recording:<\/strong><\/p>City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra\/Simon Rattle<\/strong> <br\/>Warner Classics 5865252<\/strong><\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/how-to\/watch-wildlife\/dawn-chorus-guide\/\">Learn more about birdsong and the dawn chorus from our colleagues at BBC Wildlife Magazine<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Rebecca Franks Published: Monday, 19 February 2024 at 15:11 PM Composers have always turned to the natural world for inspiration, but of all the creatures great and small that have had their voices set to music there are none quite as popular as the bird. 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