21. Nature's Musicians
11 October 2021, 15:15 - 16:15
Song Connections
Song Connections - study events Study Event
Jacqueline du Pré Music Building
St Hilda's College
Oxford
Enjoy the whole festival live online for £165 with a Digital Festival Pass. All events will be available on demand after broadcast until 30th November, so you can catch up at a time which suits you.
Eminent ornithologist John Krebs explains how birdsong is primarily a tool of communication, asking why something so apparently functional should also be so beautiful. He is joined by Laura Tunbridge, Fellow in Music at St Catherine’s College, for a discussion about the appearances of birdsong in poetry and music. Two exciting young musicians illustrate this with music by Messiaen, Debussy, Brahms and others.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
This event is an in-person and livestreamed event. Livestreamed performances will be available to watch live in our Digital Concert Hall at the advertised performance time and will be available to watch again and on demand until the end of November.
Want to watch this concert in person and at home? 'Hybrid' tickets, valid both in person and for the Digital Concert Hall, are also available for an additional £3 to the in-person price.
All our seating is unreserved. This means you are guaranteed a seat in your chosen area, but not a specific seat. In order to allow for social distancing, you will be seated as an individual or as a group, based on the number of tickets you booked for this concert.
For groups of more than 10, please phone or email the box office to book your tickets.
The event duration is approximately 1 hour and there will be no interval.
TICKETS AND PASSES
(Online bookings only)
Book five or more concerts at the same time: 5% discount
Book ten or more concerts at the same time: 10% discount
Book fifteen or more concerts at the same time: 15% discount
For even further discounts click here for more information on our Festival Passes.
Tickets for both in-person and the Digital Concert Hall will be issued as eTickets by default. Printed tickets are available on request, for an additional fee.
COVID-19
Due to COVID-19 we have to do things a little differently this year. In order to keep everyone safe, our seating and concert conditions are subject to change in line with changing government guidance.
For more information about our COVID-19 safety measures, please click here.
If you are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 on the day of the concert, please do not attend, but get in touch with our box office to arrange a refund.
Programme
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Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953)
I will go with my father a‑ploughing -
Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Die Vögel (D691) -
Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992)
Le merle noir (solo piano) -
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
An die Nachtigall (Op. 46 no.4) -
Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Die verschwiegene Nachtigall from Sechs Lieder (Six Songs) -
Déodat de Séverac (1872 - 1921)
Les hiboux -
Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)
The Crucifixion (Op. 29) from Hermit Songs -
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)
En sourdine (L80) from Fêtes galantes I
John Krebs
John Krebs
Speaker
John Krebs is an English zoologist researching in the field of behavioural ecology of birds. He was the Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 2005 until 2015, and President of the British Science Association for the period of 2012–2013.
Laura Tunbridge
Laura Tunbridge
Speaker
Laura Tunbridge is a musicologist whose research has centred on German Romanticism, with a particular interest in vocal and chamber music and its reception through criticism, performance, and composition. She studied at Oxford (B.A.), Nottingham (M.A.) and Princeton (PhD) and taught at the Universities of Reading and Manchester before joining the Faculty of Music at Oxford in 2014, where she is now a Professor and Henfrey Fellow and tutor in music at St Catherine’s College. Laura’s books include Schumann’s Late Style (C... Read Full Biography
Claire Ward
Claire Ward
Soprano
Claire Ward is a London-based soprano from West Sussex. In June 2019, Claire covered Susanna (Mozart) at The Grange Festival and sung the role of Venus in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. Further roles include Yum-Yum (Gilbert & Sullivan) Micaёla (Bizet) and Mary Crawford (Dove). In scenes Claire has performed as Susanna (Mozart) and Musetta (Puccini) for Royal Academy of Music’s Italian Opera Summer School and Lucia (Britten) and Gretel (Humperdinck) for Royal Academy Vocal Faculty Opera scenes. A keen recitalist and lingui... Read Full Biography
Guy Murgatroyd