Nature’s sounds and motions irresistible to some composers
One of the more interesting byways of composed music is the use of animal sounds, especially bird songs. Handel composed an organ concerto to The Cuckoo and the Nightingale, which exhibits, with his characteristic exuberance, a sonic facsimile of what these birds would sound like if they sang in major keys and used Baroque melodic sequences and cadences. Nothing at all like the real thing, in other words. But very fine music nonetheless.
Beijing to Damascus: A road to peace?
In a recent feature article in The Australian entitled “Christianity is China’s cross to bear”, Greg Sheridan asked whether Christianity can do for China what capitalism failed to do — namely, soften the harsh Marxist/Leninist/Nationalist atmosphere of Chinese society? Peter Jennings of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute followed up with “China picks up the pace of militarisation”.