An Illuminated Letter
for Pete Stollery
Pete’s Of the Swan is one of a set of beautiful sonic responses to the equally striking illuminations and text of the medieval Aberdeen Bestiary.
In this case, the image is of a swan striding purposefully across a golden ground, and the text describes the swan’s “wonderfully melodious voice”.
My little tribute – a decorated minor initial in the manuscript, perhaps – uses other thin metals to stand in for gold leaf, and the sounds of birds and minibeasts recorded in the garden. The long melody is unedited, a single song.
