Flower crab spider (Misumena vatia)

Dear Readers, since I have been mobility-challenged for the past month I have found myself even more interested than usual in some of the more arcane magazines that I subscribe to, and none more than the newsletter of the British Arachnological Society. This has provided me with some great stories in the past – there’s the tale of the garden centre spider, and the lady who was rescuing spiders from her swimming pool. However, I had never come across a musical celebration of the arachnid before, so when I read that a piece had been created for a distinguished British soprano who died in 2021, I was intrigued.

Jane Manning OBE (1938 – 2021) was a specialist in contemporary classical music – indeed, she was described by one critic as”the irrepressible, incomparable, unstoppable Ms. Manning – life and soul of British contemporary music”. She was renowned for her performances of works by Schoenberg, Judith Weir, Harrison Birtwistle and many others, including pieces by her composer husband Anthony Payne. She formed her own virtuoso ensemble, called Jane’s Minstrels, which nurtured many young musicians.

Manning is perhaps most famous for her interpretation of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, and you can listen to the piece here. It’s a little too eccentric for my taste, but it is very interesting.

However, what was less known about Manning was her fondness for spiders. Anyone who is fond of spiders is usually a hit with me, so I was fascinated to hear that, in her honour, composer Stephan Barchan had created a short piece, based on the nursery rhymes ‘Incy Wincy Spider’, and ‘Little Miss Muffet’. It’s not the way that I remember them from school, but you can have a listen here.

What I don’t know is why in particular Manning liked spiders. I can think of many reasons why you might – they are fascinating creatures, they are relatively easy to observe and, as we know, they often pay us visits in our houses – but what attracted Manning to them I have no idea. Still, she was clearly my sister in arachnology, if nothing else, and while some animals, (larks, nightingales, thrushes, geese) have endless pieces of music inspired by them, I am struggling to think of many works in honour of invertebrates. If you can think of any, let me know! Surely there’s a slug symphony or a beetle adagio out there somewhere?

Fencepost jumping spider (Marpissa muscosa)

Cat Update: Willow is stable, and we’re going to give her a few more days on her Feline Infectious Peritonitis drugs to see if she turns the corner. Big decisions to be made on Monday, so fingers crossed….