This Gerard Manley Hopkins setting has taken flight since its composition in 2006, partly because of its dramatic impact. Audiences enjoy the unusual combination of solo baritone (or tenor) and solo violin as well as the spatial effects suggested in the performance notes. The performers begin apart, move closer to each other, and then drift further apart again in the dying bars. This represents the two elements in Hopkins’ mind, the bird of the title and Christ. It seeks to replicate in musical terms something of the poet’s concept of ‘inscape’. The dedication of the poem, ‘To Christ our Lord’, suggests a fusion in the poet’s mind between the bird of the title and Christ. The singer and violin often perform metrically independent of each other, with the violin acting as a background. The violin does not ‘represent’ the bird or Christ. Rather its gradual integration with the singer reflects the poet’s desire for integration with Christ. The plainsong melody ‘Christe qui lux est et dies’ is introduced to heighten the sense of momentary fulfilment until, at the last, the singer is left alone on stage as the sound of the violin recedes.
Composed for a memorial service, the work has proved popular with audiences at song recitals and festivals, including memorable performances at Lake District Summer Music Festival, Ludlow English Song Weekend, Southwell Festival and Wigmore Hall. Performers have included baritones Marcus Farnsworth, Alex Otterburn and Ashley Riches, and tenor Robert Murray.