Voyager 1 & 2 spacecrafts are currently hurtling away from the solar system at almost 62,000Km/hour (NASA, 2024), and they carry a durable artifact of some of the world’s music, called the Golden Record. The impossible task of selecting 27 music pieces from earth to represent humanity was made even more difficult this week: our assignment was to filter the list even further to a measly 10 tracks. As I listened and reflected, I began considering things like whether the piece was performed by an individual or a group, whether there were vocals, or whether the tones, rhythms, and tempos would be replicable. I considered the “grandness” and representativeness of culturally traditional sounds, and I ultimately chose based on whether the music told me a story. Here are my final selections:
| Country of origin | Composition | Artist(s) | Length | Consider? | Final Selection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement | Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor | 4:40 | ||
| Java | court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers” | recorded by Robert Brown | 4:43 | Y- | |
| Senegal | percussion | recorded by Charles Duvelle | 2:08 | Y | |
| Zaire | Pygmy girls’ initiation song | recorded by Colin Turnbull | 0:56 | ||
| Australia | Aborigine songs, “Morning Star” and “Devil Bird” | recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes | 1:26 | ||
| Mexico | “El Cascabel” | performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México | 3:14 | Y | Y |
| United States | “Johnny B. Goode” | written and performed by Chuck Berry | 2:38 | Y | Y |
| New Guinea | men’s house song | recorded by Robert MacLennan | 1:20 | ||
| Japan | shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) | performed by Goro Yamaguchi | 4:51 | Y | Y |
| Germany | Bach, “Gavotte en rondeaux” from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin | performed by Arthur Grumiaux | 2:55 | ||
| Austria | Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14 | Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor | 2:55 | Y | Y |
| Georgia | Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo” | collected by Radio Moscow | 2:18 | Y | |
| Peru | panpipes and drum | collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima | 0:52 | Y | |
| United States | “Melancholy Blues” | performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven | 3:05 | Y | Y |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan S.S.R., bagpipes | recorded by Radio Moscow | 2:30 | Y | |
| Russia | Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance | Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor | 4:35 | ||
| Germany | Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. | Glenn Gould, piano | 4:48 | ||
| Germany | Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement | the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor | 7:20 | Y | Y |
| Bulgaria | “Izlel je Delyo Hagdutin” | sung by Valya Balkanska | 4:59 | ||
| United States | Navajo Indians, Night Chant | recorded by Willard Rhodes | 0:57 | Y | |
| United Kingdom | Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, “The Fairie Round” | performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London | 1:17 | Y- | |
| Solomon Islands | panpipes | collected by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service | 1:12 | ||
| Peru | wedding song | recorded by John Cohen | 0:38 | Y | Y |
| China | ch’in, “Flowing Streams” | performed by Kuan P’ing-hu | 7:37 | Y | Y |
| India | raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho” | sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar | 3:30 | Y | Y |
| United States | “Dark Was the Night” | written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson | 3:15 | ||
| Germany | Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B flat, Opus 130, Cavatina | performed by Budapest String Quartet | 6:37 | Y | Y |