So, it's been snowing and a hard frost has set in. The wind is bitter and the sky pale grey and feeling very low. Full of more snow. Thankfully, I'm in my cosy office watching Peregrines fight off Crow attacks in the field opposite, gangs of Redwings and the occasional Jay scoffing the last of the berries, and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers shinning up tree trunks. It's been lovely driving to work when the frost is at its hardest and the light clearest. My car cd player is out of action so I've had to resort to tuning my radio to find something not totally annoying to listen to, which usually means Radio 4. But random tuning can provide moments of surprise, or maybe serendipity. I caught Mortuos Plango, Vivos Voco (1980) a piece composed for eight-track tape by the modernist composer Jonathan Harvey who sadly passed away earlier this week, on my drive in this morning. Nothing could have been more in tune with the landscape at that particular moment. Icy.

Tags: jonathan harvey |  radio |