Author: David Gorsline

Pair bond

almost readyA pair of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is building a nest in an overgrown plant container at the back of my house. They’ve been working on it since at least Friday, so I’m expecting eggs and incubation (14 days, according to Baicich and Harrison) any time now.

Wider

Or, how to confuse Spotify and YouTube’s algorithms (sorry, Molly!).

Well, a with a little extra time on my hands, I was able to complete Musicology Duck’s Listen Wider Challenge 2020 in only three months, much sooner than I expected. And two of the pieces I got to hear live (asterisks below).

The prompts:

A composition of 60 minutes or more in length by a woman or non-binary composer
*Kate Soper, Here Be Sirens (2014)
A country song released in the last 6 months
Ashley McBryde, “One Night Standards” (2019): I like this one a lot
A chamber piece for 7-12 players written since 1980
*George Lewis, Mnemosis (2012)
The cast recording of a musical featuring a queer character
Tim Acito and Alexander Dinelaris, Zanna, Don’t! (2003): “Fast” is a fun patter song
A miniature composition under 90 seconds long
Marc Shaiman and Scott Scott Wittman, “Twenty Seconds” (2020)
An opera with a libretto by an author of color
John Adams, June Jordan, I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (1995): I am an Adams fanboy, but this work is not successful. Tin-eared libretto, thin orchestration.
A track by a Native/First Nations/Indigenous hip-hop artist
Eekwol & T-Rhyme, “For Women By Women” (2018)
A work by a student composer
Tiara Tanka, “Bennu” (2015) for 3 flutes and cello: Tanka is a student in the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, Northwestern University
A work from a religious/spiritual tradition other than your own
“Allah Hoo Allah Hoo,” Al-Haaj Muhammad Owais Raza Qadri
A composition that won a major award in 2018 or 2019
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (2017): “FEEL.” has whiffs of Bob Dylan, Gil Scott-Heron
A classic rock album from the 1960s or 1970s you feel like you should have listened to in its entirety by now, but never have
Traffic, Traffic (1968): left me unsatisfied; its two big songs do better as covers. After Blind Faith, Blind Faith (1969), I realized that a little Steve Winwood goes a long way. So I enjoyed Eric Clapton playing the blues on Cream, Disraeli Gears (1967).
A piece by a composer from Central or South America
Roque Cordero, “Sonatina Rítmica” (date?) and “Soliloquio” No.6 (1992)
A campaign song for each of the opposing candidates in any election, current or historical
Milton Ager and Jack Yellen, “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1929) vs. “Thank God! We’ve Found the Man” (1940): FDR vs. Willkie
A composition written when the composer was older than age 80
Milton Babbitt, “A Gloss on ‘Round Midnight” (2002): which sent me down the rabbit hole of Emanuele Arciuli, ‘Round Midnight: Homage to Thelonious Monk (2011)
A piece notated using graphic notation
Hans-Christoph Steiner, “Solitude” (2004)
An instrumental work from before 1750 written by a woman
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Les pièces de clavessin, “Suite in D minor” (1687); and Elisabetta de Gambarini, Lessons for the Harpsichord, op. 2 (1748)
A piece specifically for children by a composer or songwriter who usually writes for adults
Imogen Heap, “The Happy Song” (2019)
A top hit from the year you were born—from a country other than your own
Peter Alexander, “Der Mond hält seine Wacht” (1956): wacky backing vocals. Also popular in Germany that year was “Sie heiß Mary Ann,” to the tune of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” but nothing to do with coal mining.
Two different tracks that sample the same song
Run-D.M.C., “Run’s House”; and LL Cool J, “The Boomin’ System”: I did not know about James Brown’s “The Funky Drummer.”
A song sung by two or more siblings
Fred and Adele Astaire, “Fascinating Rhythm” (1924)
The soundtrack for a film in a language other than English
Yann Tiersen, Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)
An art music composition (broadly defined) that received its premiere in an African country
Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Three Orchestral Songs on poems by Ingrid Jonker (2015)
A classical recording from an independent label
Aheym (2013) ANTI187296-2, Kronos Quartet plays music of Bryce Dessner
A record by a winning Eurovision Song Contest performer other than their competition song
Netta, “BEG” and “Nana Banana”
A protest song by a songwriter who identifies as LGBTQIA+
“We Stand United” (2016)
A song or piece written to memorialize victims of a natural disaster
Tom Rush, “Galveston Flood” (1966)
A song by an artist currently atop Billboard’s “Social 50” chart
BTS, “Black Swan” (2020)
A concerto for tuba, bassoon, or double bass
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, concerto in F for bassoon (ca. 1805), Mathis Kaspar Stier (bassoon)
A jazz album recorded since 2015
Ezra Weiss Big Band, We Limit Not the Truth of God (2019)
A song written by or from the perspective of an immigrant
Alexis Torres Machado, “For My Immigrants” (2016)

Mind you, I came by a couple of the recordings via the CD giveaway shelf at work.

Pafko at the wall

Gerald Howard says that Don DeLillo should receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. I agree.

By every metric that we use to measure literary greatness—including overall achievement, scope and variety of subject matter, striking and fully realized style, duration of career, originality and formal innovation, widespread influence here and abroad, production of masterpieces, consistency of excellence, pertinence of themes, density of critical commentary, and dignity in the conduct of a literary career—Don DeLillo, now eighty-three, scores in the highest possible percentile.

Sky Meadows State Park

Virginia state parks are still open for day use! A staffer directed me to a spot in the overflow parking area at 10:30 on a pleasant, gusty Saturday morning.

I made a loop with the North and South Ridge Trails, about 3 miles in 3:15. That 700-foot (or so) climb just gets harder every year, but I can still do it, a few minutes at a time. Not too busy on the trails, mostly couples and small groups.

Among the butterflies, Eastern Tailed-blues were out, along with a few Zebra Swallowtails. A quick glimpse of an anglewing. Trees had not leafed out, so there were some spring ephemerals: Spring Beauty on the warmer, lower slopes; Bloodroot at higher elevations; a bit of Early Saxifrage; Cut-leaved Toothwort was fairly common; Rue Anemone always confuses me the first time I see it for the year.

Field Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks singing in the pastures.

I may have missed it the last time I was in the park: the American Chestnut Foundation has a baby orchard planted along the Boston Mill Road.

At the park (not): 109

This week’s message to my team:

I believe that all the team has received word from Halley that volunteer activities at the Park remain suspended. Quite disappointing, but necessary.

I hope, but don’t expect, that the siege will be lifted and that we can get at least one work day in at the end of the season, maybe mid-May or later.

’til then, as a thin compensation, I’ll offer a couple of YouTubes: Wood Ducks hanging out and 23 (!) ducklings exiting a box.

Stay safe, thanks for your patience, and wash your hands!

At the park: 108

From this week’s report:

No new nests started this week. We’re watching box #5, which has a full clutch of eggs but no evidence of incubation. Chris rescued my stick, which went for an extended swim in the new pool by the observation tower.

We plan to work again next week, 22 March. We will keep an ear out for guidance from the Park.

At the park: 107

First week of nest box monitoring. From my report:

box 5Earlier and earlier! We have eggs in three of our boxes already: 12 Hooded Merganser eggs in #5 (on the remains of last year’s songbird nest), 13 Hooded Merganser eggs in #7, and 4 Wood Duck eggs in #1 — all subject to recheck and confirmation.

We did not fill boxes #68, #60, and #13 with chips, in anticipation of their replacement. Box #13 is the priority for replacement: the term of art applied was “hot mess.”

Bonus bird sighting was a flock of 500+ Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) moving across lower Barnyard Run.

iced-over easyProtip: your walking stick serves double duty as an icebreaker.

A mystery: 20

The ball opened with a country-dance, in which Mr Rivenhall, in honour bound, stood up with his cousin. He performed his part with propriety, she hers with grace; and Miss Wraxton, watching from a route-chair at one side of the room, smiled graciously upon them both.

—Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy, chap. 9

Hey, internet! Any idea what makes it specifically a route-chair? Foldability/portability? Does it look like a ballroom chair? A director’s chair? A campaign chair?