EXTRACTS FROM THE GALACTICK ALMANACK
Music Around the Universe
By LARRY M. HARRIS
Illustrated by DON MARTIN
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Galaxy Magazine June 1959.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Don't take your eye off music ... there is
going to be a lot more to it than meets the ear!
This first selection deals entirely with the Music Section of theAlmanack. Passed over in this anthology, which is intended forgeneral readership, are all references to the four-dimensional doublyextensive polyphony of Green III (interested parties are referredto "Time in Reverse, or the Musical Granny Knot," by Alfid Carp,Papers of the Rigel Musicological Society) or, for reasons oflocal censorship, the notices regarding Shem VI, VII and IX and theracial-sex "music" which is common on those planets.
All dates have been made conformable with the Terran Calendar (as inthe standard Terran edition of the Almanack) by application of WinstockBenjamin's Least Square Variable Time Scale.
FEBRUARY 17: Today marks the birth date of Freem Freem, ofDubhe IV, perhaps the most celebrated child prodigy in musicalhistory. Though it is, of course, true that he appeared in no concertsafter the age of twelve, none who have seen the solidographs ofhis early performances can ever forget the intent face, the tense,accurate motions of the hands, the utter perfection of Freem's entireperformance.
His first concert, given at the age of four, was an amazing spectacle.Respected critics refused to believe that Freem was as young as hismanager (an octopoid from Fomalhaut) claimed, and were satisfied onlyby the sworn affidavit of Glerk, the well-known Sirian, who was presentat the preliminary interviews.
Being a Sirian, Glerk was naturally incapable of dissimulation, and hisearnest supersonics soon persuaded the critics of the truth. Freem was,in actuality, only four years old.
In the next eight years, Freem concertized throughout the Galaxy. Histriumph on Deneb at the age of six, the stellar reception given him bya deputation of composers and critics from the Lesser Magellanic Cloudwhen he appeared in that sector, and the introduction (as an encore) ofhis single composition, the beloved Memories of Old Age, are stillrecalled.
And then, at the age of eleven, Freem's concerts ceased. Music-loversthroughout the Galaxy were stunned by the news that their famed prodigywould appear no longer. At the age of twelve, Freem Freem was dead.
Terrans have never felt this loss as deeply as other Galactic races,and it is not difficult to see why. The standard "year" of Dubhe IVequals 300 Earth years; to the short-lived Terrans, Freem Freem hadgiven his first concert at the age of 1200, and had died at the ripeold age of 3600 years.
"Calling a 1200-year-old being a child prodigy," states the TerranDictionary of Music and Musicians, rather tartly, "is the kind ofmisstatement up with which we shall not put."
Particularly noteworthy is the parallel attitude expressed by theinhabitants of Terk I, whose "year" is approximately three Terran days,to the alleged "short" life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
MAY 12: Wilr