For the Birds

[John Hudock]

Now that Spring is here and the air is filled with the songs of birds, I'm inspired to introduce the following topic:

What composers have incorporated bird songs (actual or imitated) into their compositions? Those that immediately come to mind:

Oliver Messiaen, who was an ornothologist, and incorporated specific bird songs into many of his works culminating in his Catalogue D'Oseaux and Oiseaux Exotiques.

Rautavaara has his 'Cantus Arcticus' a Concerto for Birds and Orchestra.

Resphighi's Fountains of Rome includes imitations of bird songs and more explicitly in his suite  'The Birds'

Saint-Saens has several birds in the 'Carnival of the Animals'

Vaughan Williams in the Lark Ascending (several other works evoke birds as I recall).

Swans are well represented in the aforementioned Carnival, Sibelius' Swan of Tuonela, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (if somewhat obliquely).

The bird and the duck in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.

Contemporary Japanese composer Tokashi Yoshimatsu (who I heartily recommend to those unfamiliar with him) has many bird song inspired works as well as his better known older contemporary Toru Takemitsu.

Biber incorporates bird songs in several of his violin sonatas, the most explicit is the sonata 'Cock, Hen & Quail'

Vivaldi's flute concerto 'The Goldfinch' explicitly imitates a bird song and there are definite bird song parts of 'Spring'.

Handel has his organ concerto 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale'

Couperin has several harpsichord works based on bird songs, notably 'Le Rossignol-en-amour et Double'.

Janacek has the somewhat obscure chamber work 'March of the Bluebirds' (Pochod Modrácku)

And jazz musician Paul Winter frequently includes recordings of live bird songs in his music (and uses the bird songs and other natural sounds as inspiration for improvisations).

But most of the above examples are pretty well sung composers (excepting possibly Biber and Yoshimatsu). So where are the unsung compositions using bird songs. The only one that immediately comes to my mind is Holbrooke's 'The Birds of Rhiannon' (James MacMillan has also composed a piece based on this Welsh legend, but I don't recall any specific attempts to imitate birds in it), and more obscurely Chris Sainsbury's 'Symphony of the Birds' (excerpts here:
http://www.sainsburymusic.com/sounds-and-scores).

[eschiss1]

The two other examples that comes to example just offhand (of course there are many others I'm positive) is the first movement of Roger Sessions' 3rd symphony
and - the slow movement of Beethoven's 6th symphony!
Eric

[thalbergmad]

I used to play the Henselt - Si Oiseau J'etais, but i cannot remember if it was particularly "birdy".

Thal

[M. Henriksen]

Walter Braunfels lovely opera "Die Vögel" (composed approx. 1920) should be mentioned here.

[chill319]

Four keyboard works: Birds are portrayed delightfully in Rameau's Le rappel des oiseaux. Poetically in Ravel's Oiseaux tristes. Most imaginatively in Beach's Two Hermit Thrush Pieces.

[TerraEpon]

Vivaldi also does so in Spring, don't forget.

Sibelius's Swanwhite has a movement called "Lo, the Robin Sings" which kinda has a bird thing going for it.

[JimL]

Not being familiar with European birds and their songs (other than the ones quoted in the works above) I can't be certain, but the Vogel als Prophet section from Schumann's Waldszenen, Op. 82, certainly flits around like a bird.

[Hovite]

Biber incorporates bird songs in several of his violin sonatas, the most explicit is the sonata 'Cock, Hen & Quail'

What about Le Coq d'Or?

(Haydn's Chicken Symphony probably doesn't count.)

[thalbergmad]

(Haydn's Chicken Symphony probably doesn't count.)

Indeed it does not.

You must never count your chickens.

Thal

[black]

There is also the Amsel Septett (Blackbird Septet) composed by Heinz Tiessen in 1915, his op 20.

[Hofrat]

I have read that Beethoven used the call of the European blackbird in the rondo of his violin concerto (the five note motif in the first theme).

[Ilja]

A very good piece involving birds is Gregorz Fitelberg's 'Song of the Falcon' (1905), unfortunately (AFAIK) not represented in the catalogue but a vivid evocation of birdflight.

[John H White]

How about Haydn's String Quartet Op 64 No 5, nicknamed "The Lark" or, if that's not unsung enough, the weird bird noises in the opening movement of Spohr's 4th Symphony, involving amongst other wind instruments, a tierce flute, tuned a major third above the standard flute.

[gentile]

A very good piece involving birds is Gregorz Fitelberg's 'Song of the Falcon' (1905), unfortunately (AFAIK) not represented in the catalogue but a vivid evocation of birdflight.

Good news! The Song of the Falcon by Gregorz Fitelberg is indeed represented in the CD catalogue with a recent issue of the label EDA (Reference: EDA 27). I wish that more music  of this composer were available.
By the way, John, if I remember correctly the bird sounds appear in Respighi's "Pines of Rome", not in the "Fountains" (after all, you have higher chances to find birds in the forest than in the fountains!).
I would like to mention also the (to me) extraordinarily beautiful song "Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis", the second one from Ravel's Trois Chansons for choir.

[John Hudock]

By the way, John, if I remember correctly the bird sounds appear in Respighi's "Pines of Rome", not in the "Fountains" (after all, you have higher chances to find birds in the forest than in the fountains!).

Gentile,

You're quite right. I recall and would have to re-listen to confirm that there are some bird like noises in the Fountains to represent the birds that collect around the fountains, the piece with the recording of actual birds is the Pines. Respighi's score actual calls for a specific recording of bird songs to be played.

Thanks all for participating in the little game. There are a few interesting recordings I will have to look for. I am constantly amazed by this groups knowledge of obscure and arcane music.