Musical moments in Birdland

With music by Bob Chilcott and words by Charles Bennett, ‘Birdland’ is a 50-minute music drama about Pip the Sparrow’s quest to join the Dawn Chorus. Jointly commissioned by Magdalen College School, Young Norfolk Arts Trust and Norfolk Music Hub, the piece explores themes of identity and self-belief, as Pip discovers the power of having a song that is uniquely their own.

In this video, composer Bob Chilcott shares some of his favourite musical moments in the piece, including the ‘Bower of Power’, an emotive duet with Pip and The Golden Nightingale – ‘Dream Vision’ – and the final Dawn Chorus, where all birds join together in song.

Bob Chilcott has been involved with choral music all his life, first as a Chorister and then a Choral Scholar at King's College, Cambridge. Later, he sang and composed music for 12 years with the King's Singers. His experiences with that group, his passionate commitment to young and amateur choirs, and his profound belief that music can unite people, have inspired him both to compose full-time and, through proactive workshopping, to promote choral music worldwide.

Music: ‘One Note’ from Birdland by Bob Chilcott and Charles Bennett, performed by students at Magdalen College School and used by kind permission.

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