"There's some music here, beyond my playing." But if Alcuin was more used to the lute and harp, and with a somewhat old-fashioned manner about him, recorded music might be something he'd never encountered.

"Just not much in the way of music played live. There might be some CDs in the gift shop – they used to have that sometimes for people with long drives to look forward to – and I know there are people who had music with them. Like how books can save words for someone to enjoy later, there are ways to record sound, to be listened to later, over and over again."