The title of this piece is taken from the late astronomer and educator Carl Sagan’s book
Cosmos (1980). Sagan was a great voice in the pursuit of knowledge and reason, an invaluable force in the struggle against ignorance and superstition. His vast historical knowledge and sensitive ear for the poetic also allowed him to adorn his various texts with short quotations from original folklore through history, quotations which I have used as mental and spiritual appetizers, heading some of the movements in this piece.
Serenade also reaches out to other inspirational sources, such as William Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad and British science-writer John Gribbin, another great educator and popularizer.
The Darwin quotation heading the second movement was also found in Sagan´s book Cosmos (it is originally from Charles Darwin: On The Origin Of Species) and so was the quotation about "The Backbone of the Night".
The Ku-Fu-quotation can be found in Sagan´s last great work THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD (1995).