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Can bird song inspire great music? It certainly caught the ear of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, widely celebrated for his exuberant, playful melodies. Vivaldi even named a 1729 flute concerto for a bird, the goldfinch.
The flute is perhaps the instrument best suited to recreating the whistled sounds of songbirds. Vivaldi鈥檚 Goldfinch concerto, or , challenges the flute to imitate the bird鈥檚 silvery trills and sweetly warbled phrases . . . and even its plaintive notes.
The source of Vivaldi鈥檚 inspiration? The ! It鈥檚 a tiny bird found throughout much of Europe, where it frequents gardens and roadsides. And it has the looks to match its sparkling song. Its striking red-and-white face is set off by yellow and black wings. No wonder Vivaldi found the goldfinch irresistible.
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Song of the European Goldfinch recorded and provided by M. Stewart, .
Flute Concerto Op. 10 No. 3 in D major RV428 'Il Gardellino': I. Allegro. 鈥淰ivaldi: Flute Concertos鈥 by Richard Tognetti. EMI Classics: 2006
Flute Concerto in D Major, "The Goldfinch/Il Gardellino " RV428
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漏 2013 Tune In to Nature.org September 2013 / September 2015 Narrator: Mary McCann