/bɜː(r)d/

BIRD

The piece is based on birdsong texts and flight manuals for training pilots. The original idea for BIRD came from the Egyptian book of the dead in which the Ka spirit leaves the human body in the shape of a bird body with the dead persons face. There are many images on Egyptian mummies depicting this. The Ka spirit can then fly into the underworld so the soul can be weighed and evaluated. 
It is also a post shamanic work in that it takes the idea of transformation through the taking on of the form of an animal without taking on the spiritual aspects of shamanism.It is more accurate to say that it plays with the the idea of the performer transforming herself through transcendental technique and a kind of circular breathing, giving the impression of singing herself to death. This is expressed through imitating birdsong going into birdsong based lyrical extended vocals and ending with the pre recorded and live processed birdsong mash up and ending with lyrical extensions of the voice. 
The score is constructed of transcribed and transformed birdsong with a pre-recorded part that comes in toward the end of the work which is a live birdsong mashup. As a performance piece with film it also refers to the great clowns of film comedy Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Shot in black and white the intention is that comedy both deflects and deals with death that no other medium can quite manage.