The Slipped Disc daily comfort zone (19): The Bach in Blackbird
main
We gather that Juilliard has summarily fired a…
The US violinist has announced she is still…
The Metropolitan Opera has appointed Daniele Rustioni as…
First reports from British tenor Freddie de Tommaso’s…
Session expired
Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.
For American readers: If this reminds you of the American Robin (Turdus turdus migratorius), it’s because it is closely related. This is the Common or Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), a member of the true thrush family. It’s called “Blackbird” because of its color, not because it is a member of the group of birds we in the US know as “blackbirds” (grackles, etc.) (no, starlings are not blackbirds).
The Common Blackbird is a superb songster, like most thrushes. And yes, it does often sing “in the dead of night.” I remember when on a choral tour in Leipzig, after having had the unforgettable experience of singing Bach motets at the Thomaskirche, I lay awake for a long time in the night listening to a blackbird singing in the hotel courtyard.