Monteverde Transcriptions
The field recordings a 1970s naturalist made of insect choirs in a single Costa Rican cloud forest meadow, then transcribed for chamber ensemble after losing the tapes.
8 tracks·28 min·for relax
1
The Meadow at Five Thirty
Naming the clearing.
2:17
2
First Cicada
One voice begins, transcribed as a vibraphone cycle.
2:20
3
The Trill No Instrument Can Make
Approximating a cricket choir on flutes.
1:51
4
Second Cicada Different Tempo
A second voice that disagrees with the first.
5:06
5
The Canopy Holds Its Breath
The hush between rain showers.
9:07
6
The Eight Voices of Monteverde
Insect counterpoint, fully transcribed.
2:10
7
The Tape Is Lost in Customs
Transcribing from memory in Iowa, fifteen years later.
3:46
8
What the Meadow Still Sounds Like
The naturalist sets down the pencil.
2:21
