What is it?
An album
A double album featuring newly-commissioned musical works inspired by curlews by celebrated musicians from diverse genres, alongside curlew soundscapes recorded at the bird’s remaining hotspots throughout the UK.
For Curlews
Proceeds from this album will directly support the RSPB’s Curlew Recovery Programme and contribute to Curlew LIFE, a new project for curlew conservation, managed by the RSPB and connected to five priority landscapes across the country.
My Curlew Story
Merlyn Driver
I was born and brought up on a smallholding in Orkney in the north of Scotland and was fortunate to spend a lot of my childhood outdoors (partly because we were home-schooled and had no electricity in the house). The sound of curlews calling out in the ‘simmerdim’, the night-long twilight found in the Northern Isles around midsummer, is one of my most vivid memories of home. For me, the curlew’s song, which seems to somehow overlap between major and minor keys, has always seemed haunting, melancholic and strangely ecstatic all at the same time
Last year I began working on a new song, ‘Simmerdim’, inspired by my memories of curlews. It was only then, as part of my research, that I discovered the wealth of folklore, poetry and music that curlews have inspired, and came to realise the true scale of their recent struggles. In many parts of the UK their numbers have nose-dived more than 60% and curlews are now on the conservation Red List. The thought that we could lose curlews from the UK countryside has inspired me to act and assemble other creative responses to this iconic bird - this time on their behalf. I’d like to thank the RSPB for making this project possible.
Featuring Music
Disc I comprises newly commissioned musical works inspired by curlews, featuring celebrated musicians from various genres and using different forms of inspiration, including original songwriting, and music based around curlew vocalisations. The musicians are mostly UK-based, but also from countries where some of ‘our’ curlews migrate to and from, such as Norway and Finland
& Soundscapes
Disc II comprises soundscapes, recorded at five locations around the UK: Geltsdale and Hadrian’s Wall (England), Ysbyty Ifan and Hiraethog (Wales), Insh Marshes (Scotland), Loch Erne Lowlands, and Antrim Plateau (Northern Ireland). On these sites, identified as priority landscapes for curlews by the RSPB’s Curlew LIFE project, the aim is to stablise curlew breeding populations by 2024.
Conservation
Find out more about the natural history and conservation status of curlews, and learn about the main initiatives taking place for curlews by the RSPB and others.
Culture
Explore the rich folklore of the curlew in the British Isles, and dip into the wealth of poetry and music that has been inspired by curlews to date.
Diaries
Read Merlyn’s diary as he travels around the UK recording curlews, and stay up to date with news relating to the album release.
We would like to thank the following photographers
Francis J Taylor kindly provided the cover image for this website
Tom Streeter provided many of the other images on this website