This week we are listening to music of the birds. There are three movements in Carnival of the Animals about birds, and they are all very different! Today we will hear two of them.

The first movement is called "The cuckoo in the depths of the woods." When you hear this piece of music, imagine you are walking through the woods. It is very quiet and peaceful, and then you hear a quiet little 'cuckoo' call. The cuckoo in this music is played by the clarinet. Can you copy its cuckoo call? The idea of the music is that the clarinet is off stage during the performance, so the audience can hear the cuckoo call but can't see it - just like when we hear birds in nature, we often can't see them!

The other movement is called "Aviary."  Do you know what an aviary is?  It is a large enclosure that birds are kept in.  You may have seen an aviary of birds at a park, garden centre or zoo.  Sometimes, if you walk past a very large aviary with lots of small birds in, the noise they are making is very loud!  Here is the music:

Carnival of the Animals, Camille Saint-Saëns: Aviary

Cuckoo and Aviary