GG: C major P & F, Book I or II? (Voyager list)

[Michael Arnowitt <arnowitt@sover.net>]

Thanks Karl for posting the list of music on Voyager.  I've sometimes
wondered what aliens would think of us as a species based on listening to
some of this music.  The court gamelan music would certainly give a
misleading impression - who would know from listening to such beautiful
music that humans have consistently warred and tortured each other and
generally destroy anything in their environment within striking range?  I
feel like sending out an unofficial "bottle" with the message "don't be
fooled ... stay away from this planet with a 30-foot pole if you want to
know what's good for you"...

Beethoven's music has always seemed to well represent the more positive
aspects of being human, and I'm glad they included the Cavatina movement of
the late Bb quartet.  I grew up with the Budapest recording of it, and I've
always felt the Budapest Quartet had a wonderfully warm and humane sound.  I
wonder though if an alien could pick up "warmth" and "amiability", etc. or not.

Now that I think about it, the Prelude from Book I of the WTC would probably
be an impossible piece for an alien to decipher without context.  Maybe it's
just as well they went with the one from WTC II.

Michael


>
>
>MUSIC ON VOYAGER RECORD
>
>   * Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach
>     Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. 4:40
>   * Java, court gamelan, "Kinds of Flowers," recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43
>   * Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
>   * Zaire, Pygmy girls' initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. 0:56
>   * Australia, Aborigine songs, "Morning Star" and "Devil Bird," recorded
>     by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. 1:26
>   * Mexico, "El Cascabel," performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi
>     México. 3:14
>   * "Johnny B. Goode," written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38
>   * New Guinea, men's house song, recorded by Robert MacLennan. 1:20
>   * Japan, shakuhachi, "Cranes in Their Nest," performed by Coro Yamaguchi.
>     4:51
>   * Bach, "Gavotte en rondeaux" from the Partita No. 3 in E major for
>     Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux. 2:55
>   * Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser,
>     soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor.
>     2:55
>   * Georgian S.S.R., chorus, "Tchakrulo," collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18
>   * Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima. 0:52
>   * "Melancholy Blues," performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven.
>     3:05
>   * Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes, recorded by Radio Moscow. 2:30
>   * Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony
>     Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. 4:35
>   * Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1.
>     Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48
>   * Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra,
>     Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
>   * Bulgaria, "Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin," sung by Valya Balkanska. 4:59
>   * Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57
>   * Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, "The
>     Fairie Round," performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of
>     London. 1:17
>   * Solomon Islands, panpipes, collected by the Solomon Islands
>     Broadcasting Service. 1:12
>   * Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38
>   * China, ch'in, "Flowing Streams," performed by Kuan P'ing-hu. 7:37
>   * India, raga, "Jaat Kahan Ho," sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30
>   * "Dark Was the Night," written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson.
>     3:15
>   * Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina,
>     performed by Budapest String Quartet. 6:37
>
>
>
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