The Natural World

1. 'Sylvia' Warblers
2. Great Masters 1
3. Great Masters 2
4. Larger Thrushes
5. Droles d'Oiseaux

 Even though I live way out in the country and have a larger than average record collection, the cds on the stereo at home more often than not are nature recordings, particularly those of birds: it's the one type of sound we never argue over and never seem to tire of.

  When we traveled in Africa, Australia or other places we always brought back recordings of the local music and animals if we could find any: over the years we've acquired many nature recordings here in America, all by US recorders and usually of American birds; but last year I discovered the delightful recordings released by the French label Sitelle.

 Most of the sounds are of birds but many times if another animal such as a cow or a sea mammal makes a noise in the background, it's not edited out (as in America) but is left on the recording to give the listener a sense of place.

 This year LES GRANDES VIRTUOSES arrived (THE GRAND MASTERS V. 1 and 2): two cds which can be played separately or together.

 Their sounds are crisp and clear: the birds are magnificent singers, and the liner note booklets are in both French and English.

 The recordings were done by one Jean C. Roche, who works all over the world, and who also produces the equally gorgeous listens 'SYLVIA' WARBLERS and LARGER THRUSHES.

 Needles to say, they are delightful and can be played separately, together, or mixed in with the GRAND MASTERS titles.

 Also notable is a hysterically humorous two-cd set on the Ceba label, a sub label of Sitelle, I believe, called DROLES D'OISEAUX. This set is definitely different from the others and doesn't fit in as background sound, as each bird makes the listener exclaim "What was THAT? That can't be a bird!"

 The first hint that this recording may contain something different is the cover art: not a pretty painting of birds in nature, as the others so lovingly paint, but a series of funny caricatures of birds similar to the anthropomorphic drawings in cartoons and kids' books, but a bit more realistic.

 Many more of these delightful drawings are to be found within the 39-page liner booklet, which unfortunately for us Americans is primarily in French (though the actual name of the bird is also listed in English).

 The birds are listed by continents such as Asia, The America, Australia, etc. And a plus of this, as well as the others: there's no human voice breaking in to identify the birds or provide scientific facts: the idea is just to listen and absorb and enjoy the nature sounds.

 What a run recording! Great for playing 'guess what that is'.

 Sitelle just keeps on hitting home runs - and again, Jean C. Roche recorded this one, along with Nelly Desesquelle.

1. An Evening in Sapsucker Woods
2. Bird Songs of California by Geoffrey Keller

  If you live in California and listen to birds as much as we do, both live and on cd, you inevitably have times when you wonder "What is that sound? What kind of bird is that making that beautiful (or weird) call?"

 Well, the good folks at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology have the answer: a three-cd set BIRD SONGS OF CALIFORNIA identifying more than 200 species of birds, many of which appear in other states well.

 Just before each bird's song a female voice announces the name of the bird: no other facts; it's similar to the voice you get when you call for the time.

 A forty-seven-page liner note booklet helps when trying to memorize the sounds: it actually explains the sounds as if you weren't going to hear them on the cd. After listening to and reading all of this, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to recognize the sound of many California birds.

 Though Geoffrey A. Keller is listed as the author, many people contributed to BIRD SONGS OF CALIFORNIA, including thirty different field recorders.

 I wish I had this recording forty years ago - I'm sure I'd have memorized some of this by now.

 AN EVENING IN SAPSUCKER WOODS was originally released in 1958 and was a minor sensation. Previous to this, people didn't 'waste' precious materials or retail space on birds or nature sounds; nowadays a dozen or more companies issue records of nature sounds every year. Some are teamed with soft music so that today's busy, stressed citizens can relax listening to something that's disappearing fast: nature.

 Unlike most of today's modern nature releases which are aimed at a general audience, AN EVENING IN SAPSUCKER WOODS begins with an announcer who describes the scene we are about to encounter, then proceeds to give the name and a brief description of each individual creature just before we hear it.

 This makes the recording difficult to use as background - but so much more interesting and educational: for instance, I was very embarrassed to find that one of my favorite bird sounds was actually a tree toad!

 AN EVENING IN SAPSUCKER WOODS has two tracks: track two is made up of the sounds of fourteen different birds without the narration. Liner notes in the booklet tell you what they are in proper order.

 AN EVENING IN SAPSUCKER WOODS is a classic educational recording.