Music and Nature: A Natural History of Listening


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Let art imitate nature in her manner of operation.

Welcome to Music and Nature, a place to explore the living world through sound and discover how our evolving understanding of natural processes has influenced the idea of music.

Environmental sound artist Philip Blackburn introduces us to some of the wild sounds around us and investigates what they have meant for musicians (not to mention birds and elephants) around the globe.

interview spotlight

English superstar of the early music world Emma Kirkby gives her perspective on attitudes towards music and nature during the Renaissance and Baroque eras. (Go to interview)

feature spotlight

See the Thai Elephant Orchestra in concert, from a feature from SBS Australia on David Soldier, Richard Lair and the musical elephants of Northern Thailand. (Go to feature)

feature spotlight

The recordings of Beatrice Harrison and nightingales in the 1920's demonstrate a shift from a limited form of interspecies communication ("If you play it they will come.") toward an appreciation of nature and ambient sounds as sufficient and meaningful in their own right (the poetics of gardens and wars). (Go to feature)

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