The Lost Birds
Decca, 2022
9/10
The Grammy Winning composer Christopher Tin brings along the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and highly esteemed vocal ensemble VOCES8 for this concept album that explores and the loss and beauty of our bird friends.
“Flocks A Mile Wide” opens the listen with gentle strings flowing amid a very soothing display of emotive song craft, and “The Saddest Noise” follows with VOCES8 harmonizing beautifully alongside the meticulous interaction from the orchestra.
Approaching the middle, “Wild Swans” uses wordless vocals strategically alongside the dreamy song craft that radiates so much grace, while “Thus In The Winter” builds into a more dense display of orchestral, chamber and classical sounds with the booming voices front and center.
Landing deeper onto the back half, “I Shall Not See The Shadows” emits a shimmering, cinematic appeal in its soaring vocals and dynamic instrumentation, and “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” finishes with a distinct, stirring intimacy that is flawlessly executed.
Tin took inspiration from Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Sara Teasdale for the project, and together with the esteemed help present it makes for a romantic, cathartic and folk-tinted journey that enthralls the listener from beginning to end.
Travels well with: Sheku Kanneh-Mason- Song; Christian Li- The Four Seasons