I’m not really the type to get excited when the Renaissance Faire comes to town, and I will probably never invest in an outfit made of chainmail.
But falconry? Falconry is cool.
Several years ago, I went to a falconry show in the medieval town of Provins, an hour or so outside Paris. To watch the show, you sit in an open auditorium, surrounded by the castle walls on all sides. You are told that during the show you are not to take any photos, not to speak…in fact, you really should not move at all once they bring out the birds.
This isn’t an empty warning, like you get at the start of a roller coaster. If you make any sudden movements during the falconry show, you may leave with 50% of the eyeballs you arrived with.
As you sit, one of the trainers enters with a bird the size of a toddler, which promptly flies off and sits on a distant turret. The trainer then walks behind you, and dangles a delicious morsel of meat just behind your ear. On the faraway turret, the bird turns. You can tell he’s seen the yummy snack. He shuffles his talons, spreads his wings, and takes off in a graceful trajectory…straight towards you. His eyes lock on their target, with a death stare that could probably melt metal.
It is at this moment that you try to calculate whether it’s possible to stay perfectly still while peeing your pants. Would the eagle notice? Is its sense of smell as acute as its sight?
But before you can answer these questions, the eagle puts on the brakes, stretches out its talons, and flutters its wings, which graze the top of your head while it grabs the piece of meat just behind you.
Never before has peeing your pants been so worth it.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The pattern in the guitar reminds me of the opening of “Sweet Unrest” by Apparat.
2. The strings, especially around the 4-minute mark, are sweeping and graceful. Eagle-ish, almost.
3. The voices that end the song sound like a relieved sigh.
Recommended listening activity:
Adding feathers to an item of clothing.