The relational and cooperative labor of a corps de ballet illuminates the ways the dancers’ embodied knowledge and decision-making processes constitute a vital part of a production’s impact.
Two key aspects of dancers’ performances as a corps de ballet are collaboration and cooperation, which are components of eusociality, a term used to describe the highest level of organization of sociality, commonly observed in honeybees. Through embodied experiences and dancers’ decision-making, a corps de ballet operates in ways that are similar to democratic decision-making processes in honeybee behaviors.
This according to “Cooperation, communication, and collaboration: The sociality of a corps de ballet” by Kate Mattingly and Laura Kay Young (Dance chronicle XLIII/2  132–44).
Above and below, La royaume des ombres from La bayadèreis widely considered one of the world’s most demanding corps de ballet numbers.
Béla Bartók is renowned as one of the twentieth century’s greatest composers and as one of the founders of ethnomusicology. Less known is his love of animals, particularly his fascination with insects.
When he was a child he bred silkworms, and later he systematically collected insects, assembling a beautiful assortment. His son Béla Jr. recalled helping him with this hobby. “The most important instruction that he gave…was that no pain whatsoever was to be inflicted on the animals. And so he always took the appropriate drug with him on his insect-collecting expeditions. The insects, therefore, died and came into his collection without any suffering.”
This according to “The private man” by Béla Bartók, Jr. (as translated by Judit Rácz), which is included in The Bartók companion (London: Faber & Faber, 1993; RILM Abstractsof Music Literature 1993-4867).
Today is Bartók’s 140th birthday! Above, a watercolor caricature of him as an insect enthusiast by his cousin Ervin Voit. Below, his “Mese a kis légyrõl” (From the diary of a fly, Mikrokosmos, BB 105, Sz. 107, VI/142).
Charles Butler’s The feminine monarchy, or, The history of beesfirst appeared as a small duodecimo in 1609; it was reprinted, with considerable additions and alterations, as a quarto in 1627, and again in 1634. Though it was intended merely as a bee-keeper’s manual, its beauty and insight render it worthy of a place among the renowned works of nineteenth-century poetry.
While in most matters the work is extraordinarily accurate, it becomes questionable when Butler turns to music. His account of a certain point in the hive’s life cycle might be thought to credit bees with the powers of a masterful composer. Butler’s depiction of this event—which he refers to as “the bees’ madrigal”—appears to present a carefully constructed four-part chorus.
The familiar buzz of flying mosquitoes is an important mating signal, with the fundamental frequency of the female’s flight tone signaling her presence. In the yellow fever and dengue vector Aedes aegypti, both sexes interact acoustically by shifting their flight tones to match, resulting in a courtship duet.
Surprisingly, matching is made not at the fundamental frequency of 400 Hz (female) or 600 Hz (male), but at a shared harmonic of 1200 Hz, which exceeds the previously known upper limit of hearing in mosquitoes. Physiological recordings from Johnston’s organ (the mosquito’s “ear”) reveal sensitivity up to 2000 Hz, consistent with observed courtship behavior. These findings revise widely accepted limits of acoustic behavior in mosquitoes.
This according to “Harmonic convergence in the love songs of the dengue vector mosquito” by Lauren J. Cator, et al. (Science 8 January 2009).
Above, the female Aedes aegypti; below, Mosquitos demonstrates another form of harmonic convergence.
There are also the little parasites that annoy and explore the desired body. All the animal species are represented in this repertoire: insects, fish and crustaceans, snakes, small mammals and ferocious predators, singing birds, and fantastical beasts.
This according to “Hic sunt leones: Animali e musica nella Sicilia nel Cinque e Seicento” by Giuseppe Collisani, an article included in Res facta nova: Teksty o muzyce współczesnej VI/15  pp. 51–68).
Bee imagery has long been a prominent element in song titles and lyrics. Bumble boogie: 100 years of bee imagery in American sound recordings—A discography by William L. Schurk and B. Lee Cooper (Popular music and societyXXXIV/4 [October 2011] pp. 493–502) explores several bee themes featured in more than 200 commercial recordings released in the U.S. during the past century.
Themes cited include references to scent, terms of endearment, analogies to bee-related structures and hive-oriented treasures, allusions to romance, sexuality and reproduction, and fears of physical pain and emotional rejection. The discography features recordings released over the past ten decades either as singles (45 or 78 rpm records) or as songs compiled in albums (33⅓ rpm records) or on compact discs.
The article, which can be read online here, was published in American entomologist (L/3 [fall 2004] pp. 142–151). It is part of a larger project called Insects in rock ’n’ roll music, which also includes lists of insect-related songs, albums, and artist names.
Besides his training as a graphic artist, Jean Paucton, the prop man at the Palais Garnier in Paris, studied beekeeping at the Jardin du Luxemboug. In the mid-1980s he ordered his first hive, which was delivered to him at the Opéra, sealed and full of bees. He had intended to take it to his country house north of Paris, but when his plans changed the building’s fireman—who had been raising trout in a huge firefighting cistern under the building—advised him to place them on the seventh-floor roof at the back of the Palais Garnier.
Paucton gradually increased the number of hives to five, and from approximately 75,000 bees he annually collects about 1000 pounds of honey, which he packages in tiny jars, each with the label “Miel récolté sur les toits de l’Opéra de Paris, Jean Paucton”.
Franz Niemetschek’s legendary report that La clemenza di Tito was composed in 18 days was not seriously challenged until 1960, when Tomislav Volek published important archival materials relating to the chronology of the opera’s composition. Physical evidence from the autograph manuscript, including the remains of a fly squashed on the paper (probably by the composer in the heat of August), contributes to discrediting the hypothesis that Mozart’s work had begun before he signed his July 1791 contract for the opera.
This according to “The chronology of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito reconsidered” by Sergio Durante (Music & letters, 80, no. 4 (Nov 1999): 560–594), where the evidence is described thus:
“On folio 114 of the autograph . . . a thick black spot in the shape of a cross is found. . . . On direct and close examination, the centre of the spot proves to host the remains of a fly (a kind of evidence not often found in music sources!). After a long reflection, my best guess is that the fly was smashed under the loose bifolium at the very time of composition, after it had unduly annoyed Mozart at work; he also provided a witty ‘service’ to the insect by marking a cross over it (‘requiescat’!); in any case, such was the force and determination of the action, combined with the gluing action of the ink, that the corpse is still stuck on the page after two hundred years of musicological investigations.” (p. 574)
The main entrance to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’s exhibition Lou Reed: Caught between the twisted stars opens up on Lincoln Plaza, directly adjacent to the The Metropolitan Opera house. On a sunny day, the Met’s … Continue reading →
Seven strings/Сім струн (dedicated to Uncle Michael)* For thee, O Ukraine, O our mother unfortunate, bound, The first string I touch is for thee. The string will vibrate with a quiet yet deep solemn sound, The song from my heart … Continue reading →
Introduction: Dr. Philip Ewell, Associate Professor of Music at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, posted a series of daily tweets during Black History Month (February 2021) providing information on some under-researched Black … Continue reading →
For it [the Walkman] permits the possibility…of imposing your soundscape on the surrounding aural environment and thereby domesticating the external world: for a moment, it can all be brought under the STOP/START, FAST FOWARD, PAUSE and REWIND buttons. –Iain Chambers, “The … Continue reading →
Kazi ya mahusiano na ushirikiano wa corps de ballet inaangazia njia ambazo wachezaji wanavyojumuisha maarifa na michakato ya kufanya maamuzi ni sehemu muhimu ya athari ya uzalishaji. Sehemu mbili muhimu za maonyesho ya wachezaji kama corps de ballet ni ushirikiano na ushirikiano, ambayo ni sehemu ya eusociality, neno linalotumiwa kuelezea kiwango cha juu cha shirika la kijamii, kawaida huonekana katika nyuki wa asali. Kupitia uzoefu ulioingizwa na maamuzi ya wachezaji, corps de ballet inafanya kazi kwa njia zinazofanana na michakato ya maamuzi ya kidemokrasia katika tabia za nyuki. Hii kulingana na <unk>Mshirikiano, mawasiliano, na ushirikiano: Jamii ya corps de ballet<unk> na Kate Mattingly na Laura Kay Young (Dance chronicle XL / 2III 132 <unk> 44). Juu na chini, La royaume des ombres kutoka La bayadère ni sana kuchukuliwa moja ya dunia ya mahitaji zaidi ya corps de ballet idadi. Béla Bartók anajulikana kama mmoja wa watunzi wakuu wa karne ya ishirini na kama mmoja wa waanzilishi wa ethnomusicology. Jambo lisilojulikana sana ni upendo wake kwa wanyama, hasa kupendezwa kwake na wadudu. Alipokuwa mtoto alizalisha minyoo wa hariri, na baadaye alikusanya wadudu kwa utaratibu, akikusanya aina nzuri. Mwana wake Béla Jr. alikumbuka kumsaidia katika kazi hiyo ya kupendeza. <unk>Maagizo muhimu zaidi aliyowapa... yalikuwa kwamba wanyama wasiwe na maumivu yoyote. Kwa hiyo sikuzote alichukua dawa inayofaa katika safari zake za kukusanya wadudu. "Kama vile, katika kitabu chake cha ""The Private Man"" cha Béla Bartók Jr., na katika kitabu chake cha ""The Bartók Companion"" cha Faber & Faber, 1993." Leo ni siku ya kuzaliwa ya miaka 140 ya Bartók. Juu, mchoro wa rangi ya maji wa yeye kama mpenzi wa wadudu na binamu yake Ervin Voit. Chini, yake <unk>Mese a kis légyrõl<unk> (Kutoka kwa kitabu cha kumbukumbu cha nzi, Mikrokosmos, BB 105, Sz. 107, VI (142) Kitabu cha Charles Butler, The Female Monarchy, or the History of Bees, kilitolewa kwa mara ya kwanza mwaka 1609 na kuchapishwa tena mwaka 1627 na mwaka 1634 kwa namna ya Quarto. Ingawa ilikusudiwa kuwa mwongozo wa mfugaji wa nyuki tu, uzuri na ufahamu wake hufanya iwe na thamani ya mahali kati ya kazi maarufu za ushairi wa karne ya kumi na tisa. Ingawa katika mambo mengi kazi ni ya kipekee sahihi, inakuwa ya kutiliwa shaka wakati Butler anageuka kwa muziki. Simulizi lake kuhusu hatua fulani katika mzunguko wa maisha ya kiota cha nyuki laweza kuonwa kuwa linawapa nyuki uwezo wa kuwa watunzi stadi. Butler's depiction of this eventwhich he refers to as the bees madrigalappears to present a carefully constructed four-part chorus. Butler's depiction of this eventwhich he refers to as the bees madrigalappears to present a carefully constructed four-part chorus. Sauti ya mbu inayoruka ni ishara muhimu ya kuchumbiana, na sauti ya ndege ya mwanamke huonyesha kuwa yuko karibu. Katika virusi vya homa ya manjano na homa ya dengue Aedes aegypti, jinsia zote mbili huingiliana kwa sauti kwa kubadilisha sauti zao za kuruka ili zifanane, na kusababisha duet ya uchumba. Kwa kushangaza, kulinganisha haifanyiwi kwa mzunguko wa msingi wa 400 Hz (mwanamke) au 600 Hz (mwanamume), lakini kwa harmoniki ya pamoja ya 1200 Hz, ambayo inazidi kikomo cha juu cha kusikia kilichojulikana hapo awali katika mbu. "Kuchunguza kwa ""sikio"" la mbu kunaonyesha kwamba mwili wake una uwezo wa kusikia hadi 2000 Hz, na hivyo huonyesha kwamba ni sawa na tabia ya kupendwa." Matokeo hayo yanabadilisha mipaka inayokubaliwa sana ya tabia ya sauti ya mbu. Hii kulingana na "Harmonic convergence in the love songs of the dengue vector mosquito" na Lauren J. Cator, et al. (Science 8 Januari 2009). Juu, jike Aedes aegypti; chini, Mosquitos inaonyesha aina nyingine ya kuungana kwa upatano. Pia kuna vimelea vidogo vinavyochukiza na kuchunguza mwili unaotamaniwa. Aina zote za wanyama zinawakilishwa katika orodha hii: wadudu, samaki na wanyama wa baharini, nyoka, mamalia wadogo na wawindaji wakali, ndege wanaoyimba, na wanyama wa ajabu. Hii kulingana na <unk>Hic sunt leones: Animali e musica nella Sicilia nel Cinque e Seicento<unk> na Giuseppe Collisani, makala iliyojumuishwa katika Res facta nova: Teksty o muzyce współczesnej VI (15 pp). 51<unk>68). Kwa muda mrefu picha za nyuki zimekuwa sehemu muhimu katika majina na maneno ya nyimbo. Bumblebee: miaka 100 ya picha ya nyuki katika rekodi za sauti za Amerika - A discography na William L. Schurk na B. Lee Cooper (Muziki maarufu na jamii XXXIV [Oktoba 2011] pp. "Kama ""Mwanamke wa Mbwa"" ni moja ya nyimbo za wimbo wa ""Bee"" ambazo zimetumiwa katika zaidi ya rekodi 200 za kibiashara zilizotolewa nchini Marekani katika karne iliyopita." Vitu vilivyotajwa ni pamoja na marejeo ya harufu, maneno ya upendo, ulinganifu wa miundo inayohusiana na nyuki na hazina zinazohusiana na kiota, marejeo ya mapenzi, ngono na uzazi, na hofu ya maumivu ya kimwili na kukataliwa kwa kihisia. Discography ina rekodi iliyotolewa katika miongo kumi iliyopita ama kama single (45 au 78 rpm rekodi) au kama nyimbo zilizokusanywa katika albamu (331⁄3 rpm rekodi) au kwenye diski ndogo. Makala hii, ambayo inaweza kusomwa mtandaoni hapa, ilichapishwa katika American Entomologist (L3 [mwisho 2004] pp. 142 <unk> 151). Ni sehemu ya mradi mkubwa aitwaye wadudu katika muziki wa mwamba, ambayo pia inajumuisha orodha ya nyimbo zinazohusiana na wadudu, albamu, na majina ya wasanii. Mbali na mafunzo yake kama msanii wa picha, Jean Paucton, mfanyakazi wa vifaa katika Palais Garnier huko Paris, alisoma ufugaji wa nyuki katika Jardin du Luxembourg. Katika miaka ya 1980, aliagiza kiota chake cha kwanza, ambacho kilitolewa kwake katika Opera, kilichofungwa na kimejaa nyuki. Aliamua kuichukua kwenye nyumba yake ya mashambani kaskazini mwa Paris, lakini wakati mipango yake ilibadilika, mtekelezaji wa moto wa jengo hilo, ambaye alikuwa akilima samaki wa trout katika hifadhi kubwa ya kuzima moto chini ya jengo hilo, alimshauri kuwaweka kwenye paa la ghorofa ya saba nyuma ya Palais Garnier. "Pauctor aliongeza idadi ya nyuki kwa nyuki tano, na kutoka kwa nyuki 75,000 hivi, kila mwaka anakusanya karibu pauni 1,000 za asali, ambayo anaweka katika chupa ndogo, kila moja ikiwa na lebo ""Miel récolté sur les toits de l'Opéra de Paris.""" "Kulingana na ripoti ya Franz Niemitschek, ""La clemenza di Tito"" iliandikwa katika siku 18 na ilikuwa na miaka 18 tu kabla ya Tomislav Volek kuchapisha maandishi muhimu ya kumbukumbu kuhusu utaratibu wa uundaji wa opera hiyo." "Uhakika wa kiakili kutoka kwa hati ya autograph, ikiwa ni pamoja na mabaki ya nzi aliyepigwa kwenye karatasi (labda na mtunzi katika joto la Agosti), inachangia kutilia shaka nadharia kwamba kazi ya Mozart ilianza kabla ya kusaini mkataba wake wa Julai 1791 kwa opera.""" Hii kulingana na "The chronology of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito reconsidered" na Sergio Durante (Music & letters, 80, no. " (Mdo 4 1999: 560.594) ambapo ushahidi unaelezwa hivi: ""Katika folio 114 ya saini." . . sehemu nyeusi nzito katika umbo la msalaba hupatikana. . . . Kwa uchunguzi wa moja kwa moja na wa karibu, katikati ya mahali hapo inathibitika kuwa na mabaki ya nzi (aina ya ushahidi ambao haupatikani mara nyingi katika vyanzo vya muziki!). Baada ya kutafakari kwa muda mrefu, nadhani kwamba nzi alivunjwa chini ya bifolium huru wakati wa uundaji, baada ya kuwa na unyifu kupita kiasi Mozart katika kazi; pia alitoa witty <unk> huduma <unk> kwa wadudu kwa alama msalaba juu yake (<unk>requiescat<unk>! "Kwa hivyo, kwa sababu ya nguvu na azimio la hatua hiyo, pamoja na athari ya kuunganisha ya wino, maiti bado imeshikamana kwenye ukurasa baada ya miaka mia mbili ya uchunguzi wa muziki. "" (P574) Mlango mkuu wa Maktaba ya Umma ya New York kwa Maonyesho ya Sanaa ya Uigizaji ""Lou Reed: Imekamatwa kati ya nyota zilizozungukwa"" hufunguliwa kwenye Lincoln Plaza, moja kwa moja karibu na jengo la Metropolitan Opera." Siku ya jua, Mets... Endelea kusoma → Nyota saba (kujitolea kwa Mjomba Michael) * Kwa ajili yako, O Ukraine, O mama yetu bahati mbaya, amefungwa, Nyota ya kwanza mimi kugusa ni kwa ajili yako. "Wimbo kutoka kwa moyo wangu... "" - Philip Ewell, Profesa Mshirika wa Muziki katika Chuo Kikuu cha Hunter na Kituo cha Uhitimu wa Chuo Kikuu cha Jiji la New York, alichapisha mfululizo wa tweets za kila siku wakati wa Mwezi wa Historia ya Nyeusi (Februari 2021) kutoa habari juu ya baadhi ya ""Wimbo wa Walkman"" unaoweza kuingiza sauti yako kwenye mazingira ya sauti na hivyo kuingiza ulimwengu wa nje: kwa muda, yote yanaweza kuletwa chini ya vifungo vya STOP, FAST, POWARD, FO, na REWIND." <unk>Iain Chambers, <unk>The... Endelea kusoma →