Why would a composer want to imitate the braying of a donkey? Ferde Grofe wanted to paint this sound picture as a movement in his Grand Canyon Suite. Listen to this next section which has the donkey walking up and down the trail next to the canyon. That's actually what this movement is called--On The Trail.
Wow! You could actually hear the donkey's hooves as they clip-clopped on their way. It was tough to get the donkey into the studio, and if you believe that I'll tell you 10 more impossible things before breakfast. Toward the end of the piece, there's another bray. Bray!
One of the most important parts of the piece is a solo for the celesta, which rarely gets a solo part in any music unless it's the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky. Let's hear a bit of the solo. Listen!
Album title: Out West; Gerard Schwarz and Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Label=Delos. Catalog number=3104 It's available at Amazon.com