By Peter Page
Many great arias swell with love for those worthy of dedication – and for some, those few are not human. Here are five pieces of classical music inspired by pets, ordered to reflect their positioning in the lives of the artists who captured them in music.
Classical music inspired by pets | Photo: Poesje87; bearbeitet von Freundlicher Zeitgenosse
1. Sir Edward Elgar: Mina
Launching our list of classical music inspired by pets is this 1933 work by Sir Edward Elgar. He composed Mina in memory of his beloved Cairn Terrier of the same name. Elgar wrote music for two of his favourite dogs, but Mina, who became the centre of Elgar’s life after the passing of his wife – Alice – was the only one to have a work actually named after her (with Dan the bulldog featuring in his Enigma Variations). The piece is playfully characterised by celesta and glockenspiel, yet swoons with a longing melancholy driven by doubled clarinets. Mina exudes the respect of love, perhaps underpinned by grief at the passing of Elgar’s late wife.
2. Olivier Messiaen: Catalogue d’Oiseaux
Messiaen was a devout bird enthusiast with a religious fervour for birdsong. His passion for avian life inspired many of his compositions, with his 1958 work Catalogue d’Oiseaux perhaps foremost among them. Olivier’s relationship to birds here is devotional; he considered them “the greatest musicians on the planet”. His lifelong fascination is codified in his musical language.
3. Johann Sebastian Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze
Bach never had many dealings with farms or farm creatures. His upbringing was steeped in the church and music. In this 1713 piece, that often appears at formal occasions such as weddings, his relationship to sheep is symbolic and distant – he meditates on the tranquility of ordered society through the idealised imagery of pastoral life in all its idle wonder. Through Bach, sheep become intimate symbols of prosperity.
4. Matthew Herbert: One Pig
Next in our survey of classical music inspired by pets is One Pig, an avant-garde project – created in 2011 – that traces the life of a particular pig from birth to slaughter With sounds recorded at each stage of its life cycle, including consumption, the soundscape is both a reflection and critique of industrial farming practices. One Pig is a darker look at a symbolic relationship to animals, at odds with Sheep May Safely Graze. Where One Pig is provocative, temporal and visceral to the point of claustrophobia, Sheep May Safely Graze’s symbolism results in a spacious and airy piece of music.
5. Jim Nollman: Playing Music with Animals
Nollman, a dedicated environmental activist, challenges the conventional idea of pets; to him they are equals, not inferior partners in our self-centred lives. In his 1982 piece Playing Music with Animals, 300 turkeys, 12 wolves, and 20 orcas bring this philosophy to life, creating music through the collaborative intelligence of animals and humans.