In 1924, British cellist Beatrice Harrison made broadcasting history from her garden. An outdoor live radio broadcast using natural sounds had never been heard before.
A duet between a musician and a bird made broadcasting history, and the performance captivated audiences around the world to the genre of birdsong.
Nearly a century later, children's author Patricia Newman has brought Harrison's unusual story to a new generation in her book, "Beatrice and the Nightingale." The book explores Harrison's life as a celebrated cellist, her connection with the natural world and the breakthrough that allowed millions of listeners to hear birdsong for the first time.
Newman spoke with BTPM assistant managing editor Ryan Zunner about Harrison's remarkable career, the legendary night and why the musician's story can be a vehicle for children to foster a connection between the arts and nature during this Classical Music Month.
You can hear the interview using the blue "Listen" button at the top of the page or read the transcript below.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
RYAN ZUNNER, HOST: We're joined by Patricia Newman, a Sibert Medal honored children's book author whose works often connects children to the natural world. Thanks so much for joining us on BTPM, Patricia.
PATRICIA NEWMAN, GUEST: Thank you for having me, Ryan. It's a pleasure to be here.
ZUNNER: You have a new children's book that came out in the spring called "Beatrice and the Nightingale." Now it surrounds the life and career defining moment of British cellist Beatrice Harrison. For people who have never heard this story before, because I'll be honest, it's it's new to me as well, take us back to that night in 1924. Because that's sort of a career defining moment for Beatrice. Who was Beatrice Harrison and what happened in her garden?
NEWMAN: Well, what happened in her garden was nothing short of a miracle. Beatrice was a very famous cellist in her own right. She was the Yo-Yo Ma of the time, and it was even more remarkable because she was the first female cellist of her time. Anyway, that night in 1924, Beatrice had a number of sound engineers come to her garden with a brand new microphone. I mean, this whole thing was made possible by this new technology, this new microphone. They laid cables between the amplifiers and the telephone line in their home.
Then they had their broadcast equipment as well, and they were just waiting for this nightingale to sing as Beatrice played. And that nightingale, like most divas, kept them waiting. It didn't start singing until about two hours after the scheduled program began. The BBC, of course, had kind of filler music going on. Finally, that bird started singing, and it wowed millions of people around the country to Australia and Europe, Canada, the United States, all around the world.
ZUNNER: There's so many intersections here in this story, right? So many firsts in a way, because you know, not only is there this this birdsong broadcast being done, but at the same time, really the first outdoor broadcast the BBC had tried before. Technology-wise, you're in a studio, IT probably looked more like a science laboratory back then with the amount of equipment and stuff. We have it a lot better nowadays.
But when you're when you're writing this book and especially gearing it towards children, what is it about that relationship between Beatrice and the nightingale or maybe more general, in nature, that kind of convinced her to try something that had never quite been done before?
NEWMAN: Beatrice was a child prodigy. She had been playing music in a musical family, I might add, from the moment she was born really her dearest wish in quotes her dearest wish was to share music with the world. But when this nightingale started to sing with her one night while she was practicing in her garden, I think she was just a a brilliant marketer ahead of her time. A light bulb went on, and it just so happened that it was the first time birdsong was ever broadcast over the airwaves, and she got so much mail from this broadcast. People called her Lady of the Nightingales.
ZUNNER: Thousands of letters, like you mentioned. Why do you think it captivated people so much?
NEWMAN: Many people outside of the UK, particularly, had never heard a nightingale sing before, and if you're a birder or follow bird song at all, the nightingale song is one of the most beautiful.
ZUNNER: There are so many cherished classical music artists, and I think part of this book certainly has a message for children to yes, connect with nature and the things around you, but connect to classical music too. What was it about Beatrice that made you think this was the story that children needed to hear? That this was a story that can create sort of that meaningful connection for children with with classical music?
NEWMAN: Number one, the level of preparation that Beatrice herself did as a child to prepare for a life on the stage as a musician, and I think a lot of kids who are slaving away at their instruments, so to speak, will resonate with that.
There was one part in the book that that really made me laugh. Beatrice's mother made her daughters sit in front of a tall mirror when they practiced, so they could look at themselves when they practiced and didn't grimace because musicians shouldn't grimace on stage. They had to have serene countenances, so there are a lot of little funny things like that.
Also, this family was extremely eccentric in that they had many birds, many canaries as pets, and the canaries would often be Beatrice's audience in their cages around the house. Lots of times, she let them out of their cages, and they just flew around her while she was practicing. They had donkeys. They had alligators. They had something like 27 dogs. This was an animal-loving family, and I thought kids would really like that. But I also like that connection between nature and music and technology that made it all possible, and if it makes me say wow, it's going to make some kid out there say wow too.
ZUNNER: That's Patricia Newman, a Sibert Medal honored children's book author, her new book Beatrice and the Nightingale out now telling the story of British cellist Beatrice Harrison. Thank you so much, Patricia, for joining us here on BTPM.
NEWMAN: Thank you. It was a pleasure being here, Ryan.
