"It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here.
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear...
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near."
I've been a fan of composer Christopher Tin ever since I heard his incredible Grammy-award winning music for the computer game Civilization IV. I went through a year-long phase where I would play the latest iteration, Civ 6, mainly so I could listen to the Tin score again and again, without ever getting tired of the artistry and sheer beauty of his compositions.
So when I finally had time to listen to his latest pandemic album, The Lost Birds, my expectations were high indeed.
He shattered them and me, completely. With one of the best choirs in the world, Voces 8, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tin created what is meant to be a tribute to extinct birds, setting texts from poems by Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Sara Teasdale, to some of the most sublime music I've ever heard! I must have looked half-mad while in the bus, a drop or two moving silently down my cheeks. This gorgeous album called forth emotions I'd kept firmly repressed, but today, on the eve of Christmas, one can't help but indulge in a bit of sentiment. It's all Tin's fault!
Tin's music is more than a call to action for us humans to reverse our destructive habits before more birds and animals are lost. After all, to artists, birds stand for other things.
The first track grabs the heart and doesn't let go. "Flocks a Mile Wide" (and its partner track, the slower, more poignant "Intermezzo") set the tone. This is majestic, sweeping art of the highest order, blending the pain of loss with hopeful gratitude.
And when Voces 8 joins in with The Saddest Noise, the spell is complete. Lock yourself in your room, bring several rolls of tissue. It's going to be a cry-fest, honey.
All the album's songs are beautiful in their own way, but the first ("The Saddest Noise") and last ("Hope is the Thing with Feathers", which echoes the haunting melody we first heard in "Flocks a Mile Wide") are the stars that shine brightest in the firmament that is Tin's compositional prowess.
At Christmas, we celebrate all that is beautiful and good, and what a beautiful thing it would be if Tin would win the Grammy (again) for this musical gift.
I think this album can be more accurately described as a paean to our dearly departed. It provides so much comfort for me, and I hope, for other families with similar empty places in our Noche Buena tables. Let us eat our ham and cheese, and smile, for if we cannot be merry we can at least be joyful in expectation, and grateful for memories of fuller tables past. And, as Tin/Dickinson remind us, to never stop hoping and singing.
It's available on Spotify and YouTube! I hope it brings you as much comfort and peace as it did me. Happy Christmas!!!
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