turtur was commissioned by Corvus Consort, as part of the ‘Twelve Composer’s Composing’ project 2020

Written specifically for the Corvus Consort and Freddie Crowley, it will be premiered on 26 December 2020 as a digital release on corvusconsort.co.uk

Initial thoughts

Dedicated to the work of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

turtur m (genitive turturis; Latin); shared in the Welsh language

The picture postcard image of two, nestled turtledoves, symbolic of love, friendship and partnership, have become synonymous with ideas of new life and purity during Christmas (ever since Aelian’s proclamation of their sacrosanctity to Demeter in C. 200 AD).

What surprises me when thinking about how the image and symbolism of two turtledoves has seeped into all areas of our shared history and that of the Christian faith is that these birds of love and purity are on the brink of becoming an endangered species. The turtledove’s 51% decline from 2013 to 2017 is the most drastic of a continuing slump for a quarter of farmland bird species. In Britain alone, populations have declined by three-quarters since 1976 with the estimated UK population dropping from 125,000 pairs to around 45,000 pairs. Whilst turtle doves are protected in the UK, they are shot in huge numbers during their winter migration. It is estimated that as many as 2 to 4 million turtle doves are shot and trapped as they migrate through Europe.

This work is very small landscape and musical response to these discoveries which explores this relationship between us and the turtledove, incorporating recorded material of the turtledoves’ coo and taking flight (optional; with kind permission from the RSPB).

watch

For full information about this new work, please visit this dedicated webpage.