Byrd and Birds

Birdsong has long fascinated not only amateur ornithologists, but also musicians. Clément Janequin’s onomatopoeic music, in which blackbirds and nightingales whistle, chatter, and twitter, shows how humorously the sounds of nature were imitated as early as the Renaissance.

When these songs are performed by the Calmus Ensemble with their silky smooth sound, spring fever is inevitable: for more than 25 years, the ensemble has graced the international a cappella scene with its outstanding ensemble sound and creative programs. In Göttingen, they combine their odes to forest and feather with the Mass for Five Voices by English composer William Byrd. The work is considered a masterpiece of polyphonic vocal music from the late 16th century. Die Elemente des Seins (The Elements of Being) by Harald Banter, written especially for the Calmus Ensemble, reveals a secular but no less mystical side of nature, as fresh as dew.