DAQUIN: The Cuckoo in Sussex

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This is Daquin's "The Cuckoo" (performed by amateur pianists around the world) like you've never heard it before; we transplanted the bird from its original setting in 1735 to a new environment of dreamy timelessness.

Deep in the woods, we heard the cuckoos calling to one another. What are they saying? We don’t know, but for some reason their simple song seems to be tinged with a sense of nostalgia.

The cuckoo's call is often used to designate the passing of time. Cuckoo clocks signal a new hour with the famous chime, "cu-ckoo, cu-ckoo," and many cultures await the cuckoo's call after the snow melts as an indication that spring has truly come. For years, the London Times celebrated the arrival of spring by publishing the first documented hearing of the cuckoo. John Clark's letter to the editor in 1923 is one such example:

Sir,

Some of your readers may be interested to know that the cuckoo was heard at 7 o'clock this (Tuesday) morning. It was in a wood just outside my house.

Yours faithfully, John Clark
Rockmead, Halland, Sussex, March 22, 1923.

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