Photo: Yathin sk (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) via Wikimedia Commons
Today is Earth Day 2015, and Radio 3 has been tweeting its suggestions for suitable music. Last Year's Earth Day was marked by a special performance of what the New York Times described as "the ultimate environmental piece" - Inuksuit by John Luther Adams.
Written for " between nine and ninety-nine percussionists" it is a piece for playing in the outdoors, and adapted for the environment in which it is to be heard.
At the other end of the scale, John Luther Adams's ethereal homage to the humble canyon wren (pictured) is featured in this Saturday's Hear and Now. Birdwatcher, guitarist and broadcaster Tom McKinney will be reviewing the latest CDs on BBC Radio 3's flagship contemporary music programme.
Click the button for programme details and, from Sunday for 30 days, to hear it again.
Written for " between nine and ninety-nine percussionists" it is a piece for playing in the outdoors, and adapted for the environment in which it is to be heard.
At the other end of the scale, John Luther Adams's ethereal homage to the humble canyon wren (pictured) is featured in this Saturday's Hear and Now. Birdwatcher, guitarist and broadcaster Tom McKinney will be reviewing the latest CDs on BBC Radio 3's flagship contemporary music programme.
Click the button for programme details and, from Sunday for 30 days, to hear it again.
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John Luther Adams lived for many years in Alaska but now splits his time between New York and Mexico's Baja California. Landscape and the natural world are his strongest influences: in the 1970s and 80s he was a full-time environmental activist and worked for the Wilderness Society, the Alaska Coalition, and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.
He has been described by critic Alex Ross as “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” In an article for slate.com Adams says: Making music outdoors invites a different mode of awareness. You might call it “ecological listening.” In the concert hall, we seal ourselves off from the world and concentrate our listening on a handful of carefully produced sounds. |
Outdoors, rather than focusing our attention inward, we are challenged to expand our awareness .... to receive messages not only from the composer and the performers, but also from the larger world around us.
Fans of Adams will be able to experience a new outdoor work at this year's East Neuk Festival in June, along with a programme of literary events celebrating our profound connections with nature, landscape and seascape. See our What's On page for details.
Like NATURAL LIGHT, Tom McKinney's excellent blog also explores the connections between birds and music.
Fans of Adams will be able to experience a new outdoor work at this year's East Neuk Festival in June, along with a programme of literary events celebrating our profound connections with nature, landscape and seascape. See our What's On page for details.
Like NATURAL LIGHT, Tom McKinney's excellent blog also explores the connections between birds and music.
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