ECS Members and Associates participated in a very special virtual event Tuesday, 1 November, with composer Cecilia McDowall, poet and lyricist Seán Street, conductor Peter Asprey and ECS chairman Jane Macleod, hosted by Catherine Bench, to discuss Bird of Time, the new commission by Cecilia McDowall, which will have its world premiere at our upcoming 60th Anniversary concert on 12 November 2022. McDowall, Street and Asprey discussed the piece and its journey from blank page to full performance, highlighting such aspects as the influence of birdsong on the composition’s sound world, the interplay between text and music, and the ways in which the choir brings music to life in performance.

Bird of Time, commissioned by Ealing Choral Society to celebrate its 60th Anniversary, originally began with a request from Cecilia McDowall to the whole choir to submit a poem that might be suitable for the occasion. ECS Treasurer Cynthia Haliburn suggested the poem Bird of Time by Indian poet, activist, feminist and politician Sarojini Naidu, with its themes of song, sorrow and life interwoven with hope for the future. Each verse asks the ‘Bird of Time’ a question, ‘What are the songs you sing?’ to be answered: songs of joy and despair, dreams and laughter, life and death. McDowall and Street also discussed the ways in which a composer and lyricist collaborate to bring a project to life, and how Bird of Time marries the Naidu poem with two additional pieces by Street, Aubade and To be bird, to create the full text of a cantata celebrating the passage of time, the music of the natural world, how easily it might be lost, and what humanity might gain by seeing with the eyes of a bird.

The evening provided a fascinating insight into the creative process of making a new piece of choral music, an important part of Ealing Choral Society’s 60th Anniversary story. We are very grateful to have had this opportunity to learn more about the world of the composition, and look forward to singing the piece on Saturday, 12 November. For tickets and more information please visit the 60th Anniversary concert page.