Natal

Mary Beth Stowe's Website

Natal

South African Suite

VI. Natal

The work ends with a movement on the same scale as the first, opening with the bass notes of the Burchell’s Coucal and being joined by another song of the same bird, plus Rudd’s Apalis in the first violin line and Purple-crested Turaco providing rhythm in the viola. This is the land of the Zulus and the game parks, of guineafowl and Ground Hornbills (whose start-and-stop bass line against the whistle of the Deideric Cuckoo is unmistakable). Solo lines throughout the movement are provided by the Rattling Cisticola, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Yellow-eyed Canary, and Chorister Robin Chat. Widespread African birds familiar to many, such as Fish Eagle, Green Pigeon, and Crowned Hornbill are also represented. The movement ends on a forceful note with the multi-pitched calls of the Lesser Striped Swallow.

To hear a MIDI piano version of this movement, click here.

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*A Note About MIDI Files: Unfortunately, due to the fact that gradual tempo changes had to be entered manually in the original files, other playback effects (such as crescendos and sustain pedals) were not able to be reproduced in the MIDI version.