As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 29 October 2017

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the song of the pied butcherbird in new composition


Posted Sat at 3:33am

The flute-like chirps of an iconic Australian songbird has inspired one of the nation's most prestigious orchestras.

The pied butcherbird, found in many backyards around the nation but best heard in the Australian outback, will perform — in a way — as part of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night.

"It's such a spectacular singer, perhaps the world's finest songbird," said Hollis Taylor, a violinist and composer.

"It was my first trip to Australia and I found myself in the middle of three birds singing a trio; it was absolutely glorious, I had no idea that birds sang in trios.

"It changed my life, it was an epiphany."

For more than a decade, Ms Taylor has studied the melodies of the pied butcherbird, turning those songs into pieces of music.

This year, she has spent months travelling the MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs and Far North Queensland, creating a unique piece for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra which incorporates her field recordings.

"I really tried to celebrate the birdsong rather than improve on it, and so almost always the instruments are playing the direct transcriptions," Ms Taylor said.


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