The Wren in Winter

For Piano, Strings, Oboe D'Amore, Bassoon, Piccolo, Trumpet, Woodwinds, and French Horns.

 

Sing Loud, Sing Long, Sing Spirit Full...

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The Wren

Look left from oak to right of beech,

Glance up to slumbered canopy,

A ball of rufous mottled feathers fills with crisp cold air,

You beauty of the frozen mist and frosted whitened wood,

Sing loud, sing long, sing spirit full with silken rare and rippled song.

Winter fall as sigh to spring till end of March,

The stretch of wing,

And then with warmth on day of sudden gift you come to be,

As strength of angel silk your tune as broad in reach as sky-lit moon,

Beloved of all the sounds that fly, that I have heard or light will see.

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The wren is a tiny bird and frequent visitor to my garden. As a child, my favourite coin was the farthing that featured a beautiful depiction of a wren on one side. That it was the lowest unit of currency that ceased to be used in the year of my birth made it all the more valuable.

The Rights of Living Things is a declaration that seeks to encourage thought about how we act with all kinds of life.

I rarely use explicit representation in my art and music, however the idea of what it is to value something is so abstract and personal, I thought it helpful when supporting the principle that life should have the right to be regarded as important and potentially beneficial to the world, no matter how small.

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Artwork: The Wren in Winter

The artwork that accompanies the music is created from tiny balls, scrapes and dots sewn together into the single image of a wren that perches on a twig on a bright blue white-cold day.

A full size section from the artwork follows.