A Divine Duet
Music is on the mind this Sunday morning.
Yesterday, an afternoon stroll through the botanical garden was followed by a climb through the wooded hills near my house. Flowers were in bloom, but I was more transfixed by my sense of hearing.
Birdsong was everywhere. Repeated melodies echoed among the trees. Calls and responses. A competition among the varied species.
I was eager to try the Merlin app I recently downloaded on my phone that identifies birds by their recorded pitches. It worked beyond my expectations. The onramp to a new hobby? Perhaps.
As I stood there in amazement at the diversity of sounds, I thought about how our species can produce beautiful songs as well. And to me, few things are more divine than a duet. The interlocking of voices, pitches, and rhythm can be exquisite.
My musical tastes are eclectic, but over the years I have developed a bit of an obsession with the pioneering early Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. I don’t know what it is about his music, but I find it relatable, ethereal, and often calming. Sadly many of his works were lost.
That almost happened to Monteverdi’s final opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea. Thankfully it was rediscovered in the late 19th Century.
The most famous part of the work is the duet which ends the opera. It is between two historical lovers, the Roman emperor Nero and his mistress-turned-empress Poppea. The role of Nero was originally sung by a castrato (a male singer castrated in boyhood to retain a soprano or alto voice). Today, the role is either sung by a countertenor or, as in the case of the version I share here, a female mezzo-soprano.
The mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey and the soprano Nardus Williams are joined by the Arcangelo period ensemble. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you are having a lovely weekend
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The first time I used Merlin in the woods and recorded a bird song, and then played it back, the original source and I had a kind of unexpected duet. I was gobsmacked right there among the trees and bushes and have done it several times since, just for pure enjoyment.
Thank you Elliot for the beautiful piece by Claudio Monteverdi. The Cornell Ornithology Lab App Merlin is so amazing that it stimulated me to be a monthly donor to Cornell’s Ornithology research. I have spent hours having the App identifying our backyard bird population. On a short walk in my neighborhood park, I came across a juvenile Great Horned Owl and when I played some of the Great Horned Owl calls record on Merlín, the owl responded in fascination. No wonder the App is appropriately called Merlín!