Sleep, and whether it occurs in fish

While zoology research has made tremendous strides over the years, some ancient hypotheses have not stood the test of time. This light-hearted vocal quintet attempts to explain why fish sleep through the hopelessly archaic observations of Aristotle. The text has been adapted from D’arcy Wentworth Thomas’ 1910 translation of Aristotle’s History of Animals.

First performed on 10 October 2017 by Alex Ritter (alto), Anish Nair (tenor), Stewart Webb (tenor), Mitchell Relf (baritone), and Daniel Bower (baritone) at Melba Hall, Melbourne, Australia.