miranda rutter & rob harbron – bird tunes

Fiddle player and composer Miranda Rutter and concertina player Rob Harbron bring the glorious Bird Tunes to the festival; an exquisite new suite of folk tunes with birdsong at their core. Miranda Rutter crafted every tune in the project out of fragments of birdsong which she recorded on her phone during woodland walks near her home. The suite is both a love-song to the intricacy and beauty of birdsong, and a timely reminder of the struggles with habitat loss and human-made dangers faced by migrating birds today. In Miranda’s own words, ‘I follow in a long line of musicians from prehistory, who’ve been inspired by birdsong – it being such an enchanting wonder of the world!  For me, listening deeper, discovering intricacies and learning to recognise birds by their song has made me care even more about birds and their habitat.  As so many species are struggling in this rapidly changing, human-dominated world, I hope that my contribution can help spark intrigue, spread awareness and in turn, generate action to turn the tide of fortune for these awe-inspiring creatures.’

‘Entirely original and utterly spellbinding. If any music has ever mirrored the beauty of an English landscape, then Bird Tunes is it.’ Gavin McNamara for Tradfolk