AtDtDA(34): Up in the Balkan Range

[János Székely]

According to the list of birds in
Bulgaria<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Bulgaria>,
the following species of "thrush" are native:

Turdus philomelos, Song Thrush <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Thrush>
Turdus ruficollis, Dark-throated
Thrush<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-throated_Thrush>
Turdus viscivorus, Mistle Thrush<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistle_Thrush>
Zoothera dauma, White's Thrush<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%27s_Thrush>
Luscinia luscinia, Thrush
Nightingale<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrush_Nightingale>
Monticola saxatilis, Rufous-tailed Rock
Thrush<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous-tailed_Rock_Thrush>
Monticola solitarius, Blue Rock
Thrush<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Rock_Thrush>

Apart from the reference to monks (and the Byzantine heritage in general),
thrushes singing in modal scales may be a much simpler joke, modality (of
Greek origin) being a characteristic of Bulgarian folk music.
János

2008/6/23 Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>:

> "Up in the Balkan Range one day for the first time ..."  (AtD, Pt. IV, p.
> 956)
>
>
> "one day for the first time"
>
> Uncharacteristically clumsy phrasing?  Or ...?
>
>
> "some kind of Bulgarian thrush"
>
> Monticola solitarius  Blue Rock Thrush
> Monticola saxatilis  Rock Thrush
> Zoothera sibirica  Siberian Thrush
> Zoothera dauma  White's Thrush
> Turdus torquatus  Ring Ouzel
> Turdus merula  Blackbird
> Turdus ruficollis  Dark-throated Thrush
> Turdus pilaris  Fieldfare
> Turdus iliacus  Redwing
> Turdus philomelos  Song Thrush
> Turdus viscivorus  Mistle Thrush
>
> http://www.birdwatchingbulgaria.com/?page=checklist
>
> Cf. ...
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Bulgaria#Order_Passeriformes
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Bulgaria
>
> pas·ser·ine
> 'pa-s&-"rIn
> adjective
> Latin passerinus of sparrows, from passer sparrow
> 1776
> : of or relating to the largest order (Passeriformes) of birds which
> includes over half of all living birds and consists chiefly of
> altricial songbirds of perching habits -- compare OSCINE
>
> os·cine
> 'ä-"sIn
> adjective
> New Latin Oscines, suborder name, from Latin, plural of oscin-, oscen
> songbird, bird giving omens by its cry, from obs-, ob- in front of, in
> the way + canere
> to sing -- more at OB-, CHANT
> 1883
> : of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of passerine birds (as
> larks, shrikes, finches, orioles, and crows) characterized by a vocal
> apparatus highly specialized for singing
>
> http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
>
> "'We're in luck.  Loren Passerine, the finest auctioneer in the West,
> will be crying today.'" (Lot 49, Ch. 6, p. 183)
>
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0109&msg=59200
>
> "... I am as cheerful as a finch" (AtD, Pt. I, p. 21)
>
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0701&msg=114554
>
>
> "singing in modal scales"
>
> In music, a scale is an ordered series of musical intervals, which,
> along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. However, mode is
> usually used in the sense of scale applied only to the specific
> diatonic scales found below. The use of more than one mode is
> polymodal, such as with polymodal chromaticism. While all tonal music
> may technically be described as modal, music that is called modal
> often has less diatonic functionality and changes key less often than
> other music....
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_mode
> "singing in modal scales"
>
> This point to any particular thrush?  Help!
>
>
> "a skein of goat paths"
>
> Main Entry: skein
> Pronunciation: \ˈskān\
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle English skeyne, from Middle French (Picard) escagne,
> probably from Vulgar Latin *scamnia, from *scamniare to wind yarn,
> from *scamnium rack for holding bobbins, from Latin scamnum bench,
> stool — more at shambles
> Date: 14th century
> 1also skean  or skeane \ˈskān\ : a loosely coiled length of yarn or
> thread wound on a reel
> 2: something suggesting the twists or coils of a skein : tangle
> 3: a flock of wildfowl (as geese or ducks) in flight
>
> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skein
>
> Cf. ...
>
> "No hallowed skein of stars can ward, I trove, Who's once been set his
> tryst with Trystero." (Lot 49, p. 58)
>
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0509&msg=97516
>
> "skeins of narrow streets" (AtD, Pt. II, pp. 422-3)
>
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0708&msg=120979
>
>
> "choral voices"
>
> Cf. "birdsong" above ...
>
>
> "Byal Sredets"
>
> The Sredets or Sredetz lines of cigarettes are still produced. Byal
> just means "white"; Byal Sredets was (speculatively) a sub-brand.
>
> After not too much searching, no cigar(-ettes) but Byala and Sredets
> are towns near Varna, and silly speculation: to a non-Bulgarian
> English speaker, Byal Sredets, kind of looks like it could sound like
> "buy all cigarettes," if you pronounce Sredets as sir-e-dets.
>
> Byala and Sredets are not in major tobacco-growing regions of
> Bulgaria. If we have to try parsing the brand name (and we do),
> Sredets may refer to the Sredna Gora growing region.
>
> Sredets is the old Bulgarian name of Sofia, and now a municipality
> within the city.
>
> Byal is also evocative of beyul, Baikal and bi-locale.
>
>
> http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_946-975#Page_956
>
> Please see Binarisms Discussion for more on Byal as white on the Black
> Sea, and other dualities in AtD.
>
>
> http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Binarisms_Discussion
>
>
> "'Zdrave ... kakvo ima?'"
>
> Bulgarian: Good health . . . what's the matter?
>
>
> http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_946-975#Page_956
>
>
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