On The Extinction Of A Species (3 Act Version)- Falk Morawitz by Falk Morawitz published on 2020-11-26T21:45:49Z On the Extinction of a Species is a 23-minute 7.1-multichannel music composition. The piece combines an acousmatic sound world with voice narration to tell the story of the extinction of the passenger pigeon. The topic of the composition, the eradication of four billion pigeons in the late 19th century, is a cautionary tale: even if the actions of an individual person seem negligible, the collective impact of these actions are enormous. Examining the public mindset surrounding the extinction of the passenger pigeon show striking similarities with the treatment of current and pressing global environmental issues such as global warming, the plastic pollution epidemic and the ongoing mass extinction of species. The unwillingness to acknowledge and act upon the impact of our own actions seems to be just as prevalent now as it was in the 1890s. Presenting a music piece concerned with the mass extinction of the passenger pigeon is therefore not only about a tale of the past, but a reminder of the environmental impact of our own actions.
