BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

July 2020 BBC Wildlife 47

Gettinglostinmusicinspiredbywildlife

andtheenvironmentcanrenewour

connection with the natural world.

O

n a raweveningatthetail

endoflastyear,I found

myselfhuddledamong

a gaggleoflikeminded

peopleinSomerset.As

thelightfaded,sodid

ourchatter.Thewhisper

ofstarlingsperformingtheirsinuousaerial

balletmesmerisedus;spiritstookflight,

soaringandswoopingwithsongsand

wingbeatsclatteringsoftlylikehundredsof

paperfansunfolding.

Then,afterthelastofthebirds’calls

ebbedaway,wewereledalonga storm-

lashedshore,andambledupriveralong

meanderswrithingwithelvers.A trioof

microadventures– allexperiencednot

amongthereedbedsoftheSomersetLevels

orontheQuantockcoast,butina smallarts

venueincentralBath.

Mylyricalguidefortheeveningwas

Bristol-basedsinger-songwriterKitty

Macfarlane.Starling Song, which opened

herjoyfulset,featuresrecordingsofa

murmurationbut,intruth,capturesthe

essenceofthatluminousexperiencemore

intune,rhythmandrhyme.“Above,a

leviathanassemblesinthesky...Theyfly

overthestoriesheldinthepeat/ Telling

theirownina millionwingbeats.”

Macfarlaneis amonga swellingwaveof

nature-inspiredmusicians,particularlyfolk

singers– butnotexclusively.“Today,ina

veryevolvedmusicindustry,it’sinteresting

seeinghownatureis startingtoappearin

manydifferentgenres,artisticstylesand

usages– fromthehighlyconceptualand

avant-gardetothestraight-down-the-line

folk,”saysfolksingerandactivistSamLee.

It’ssurelymorethanmerecoincidence

thatthesevoicesareintunewiththose

ofactiviststacklingwiderenvironmental

andconservationconcerns,ata time

whenclimatechangeandplasticpollution

dominateheadlinesandconsciences.

Rather than preaching, though, at the heart

oftheirsongs– lendingthemtheirinherent

beautyandappeal– is a profoundloveof

thenaturalworld.

“Ithinkthatseepsintomysongs,but

hopefullyina waythatisn’tjustpastoraland

twee,”saysKitty.“ThethingI reallywant

toinvestigatewithmusicandwords,and

recordingsofthesoundsofnature,is our

relationshipandfragiletieswiththeland.”

I

t’shardlya novelidea,ofcourse.

Britishfolkmusicwasbornfromour

countrysideandwildlife.Thelovesongs,

theeerietales,thepost-battlelaments,

themurderballads– somanyevokethe

land,thesky,thesea,andthecreaturesand

treeslivinginandonthem.

“Lookat thetraditionalmusicofany

culture– notjustBritishfolk– andit’s

devotionalmusictowardsourrelationship

withtheland,”musesSam.“Itmayhave

evolvedintoa veryhumanandintellectual

relationship, but that’s what its purpose was.”

ByPaul BloomeldIllustrations Sue Gent

Talking

point

in the key of life