I've already written about the first ever recording of a bird, made by Ludwig Koch in 1889, HERE. It's generally agreed that the first time a recording of a bird was used in a piece of music was in 1924, in The Pines of Rome by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936). In the third piece from the set of four, Respighi depicts a nocturnal visit to the pines on Janiculum Hill, and puts in a real recording of a Nightingale at the very end - a live orchestra is joined by the recorded bird.
I'm not sure about who / when / where the Nightingale was recorded, but Respighi did suggest that in a performance, the recording of the bird should be played on a Brunswick Panatrope, which I think would have been a brand new invention at the time. Nowadays, performances use modern technology like the cassette player and mini-discs.
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| Brunswick Panatrope |
Every time time I listen to this, I always think that the sudden arrival of a genuine Nightingale from out of the orchestra is really powerful and actually quite moving. Not everyone agrees - this piece has been a long time source of controversy amongst people who like to find things to wind themselves up over. Respighi has been criticised for sickbag over-sentimentality. Did he lack the musical imagination to depict a Nightingale using the orchestra? And best of all, there are suggestions that by using a machine to replace a living creature, Respighi's Nightingale is symptomatic of the totalitarian Fascism of Mussolini's Italy. Obviously. So there you go.
There's no rush - don't worry, your Findus Crispy Pancakes have got ages until they start to burn - so take the time to watch all of this. Trust me, it's really good (other than a few people in the audience dying from some lung disorder). But if you can smell burning, then the Nightingale starts to sing at 5:50.
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