We stand in our field, gathered together to listen: to the creatures rustling in the undergrowth, to the wind making the oak leaves dance, to the lone, distant curlew and to ourselves; our breathing, our heartbeats and our place within it all.
‘Around Here, The Birds Plant The Trees’ was written in response to a commission asking composer Natalia Beylis to consider an aspect of climate change.
The work began with musicians meeting in a field, taking its sights and sounds as a starting point to explore land and its borders, guardianship, governance and policy — and how this all affects the inhabitants.
Together with percussionist Willie Stewart, cellist Eimear Reidy, fiddler Tola Custy and viola players Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh and Ultan O'Brien, Beylis invites you to this performance to consider the past, present, and possible futures of a single field.
"A wonderfully uplifting and positively affirming piece." Jonathan Grimes, producer and contemporary music advocate
Produced and co-commissioned by hcmf// and New Music Dublin as part of The Current Climate and Kirklees Year of Music 2023. Also supported by the Kirklees Council and Culture Ireland.