In 2024, the Friends of the CSS Library commissioned a new work of music for our Catalog of Birds. Duluth composer Wendy Durrwachter's "Vesper Waltz" was inspired by the first campus sighting of an uncommon Vesper Sparrow during spring migration that same year. Durrwachter's composition includes musical references to the sparrow and several other species which have been seen or heard on the CSS campus. Cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing and pianist Teresa Vaughan gave the premiere of the new work at Mitchell Auditorium on November 8, 2024.
[Photo from premiere with Ifetayo Ali-Landing (cello), Laura Erickson (author/ornithologist), and Wendy Durrwachter (composer).]
Olivier Messiaen and Paul Crossley--Royan, 1968. (Photo courtesy of Paul Crossley.)
One of the inspirations for our Catalog of Birds at CSS has been the great 20th-century composer, Olivier Messiaen, a keen birdwatcher who frequently incorporated birdsong into his compositions. Our colleague Dr. Nicholas Susi recently spoke with the renowned British pianist Paul Crossley CBE about his reminiscences of Messiaen. The interview includes a charming anecdote about Crossley's first meeting with the composer along with his comments on Messiaen's Catholicism and interest and use of birdsong. Crossley also discusses his own remarkable career in music including his work as a writer and host for the landmark 1980s British television series Sinfonietta which highlighted the compositions of leading 20th-century composers. The conversation concludes with Crossley's fascinating comments on just a few of the works by major 20th-century composers--including Tippett, Takemitsu, and Knussen--which were written specially for him.
The Library's Naxos service provides access for CSS students and faculty to dozens of Mr. Crossley's recordings, including several devoted to the works of Olivier Messiaen.
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Composed in 1863, the first of Liszt's Two Legends (S.175) is inspired by the story of St. Francis preaching to the birds. It is performed here by our talented former colleague, Dr. Nicholas Susi.
Maurice Ravel described his Oiseaux Tristes (translated as "Sad Birds") as "birds lost in the torpor of a very dark forest during the hottest hours of summer." The Work is heard here in a performance by Dr. Nicholas Susi, a former Assistant Professor of Music at the College.
