Sound Escapes - A Jubilant Riot of Music

BirdNote®
Sound Escapes - A Jubilant Riot of Music
Written by Ashley Ahearn and Mark Bramhill

AA: When he was just 22 years old, a young man named Samuel Clemens signed on to train as a pilot on a Mississippi riverboat. He quickly realized that, if he volunteered for the early morning shift, he could experience one of the most incredible musical shows there is.

Well, that young man went on to become the writer, Mark Twain. Here’s how Twain described the experience in Life on the Mississippi:

“First, there is the eloquence of silence; for a deep hush broods everywhere. Next, there is the haunting sense of loneliness, isolation, remoteness from the worry and bustle of the world. The dawn creeps in stealthily; the solid walls of black forest soften to gray, and vast stretches of the river open up and reveal themselves; there is not the faintest breath of wind, nor stir of leaf; the tranquillity is profound and infinitely satisfying. Then a bird pipes up, [bird] another follows, [bird bird] and soon the pipings develop into a jubilant riot of music.”

[SOUNDSCAPE]

“You see none of the birds - Twain wrote - “you simply move through an atmosphere of song which seems to sing itself.”

You’ve been listening to a sneak preview of Sound Escapes - a special podcast production from BirdNote. You can listen to the full series at BirdNote Dot Org Slash Sound Escapes.

I‘m Ashley Ahearn.

This show is made possible by Jim and Birte Falconer of Seattle, the Bobolink Foundation, Idie Ulsh, and the Horizons Foundation.

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Producer: John Kessler

Managing Producer: Jason Saul

Editor: Ashley Ahearn

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill

Narrator: Ashley Ahearn

Bird and nature sounds provided by Gordon Hempton.

BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

© 2019 BirdNote   June 2019

ID#  hemptong-SE-Mississippi-02-2019-06-24    hemptong-SE-Mississippi-02