Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Will Canning enjoys a layered sensory experience and lyrical call to the wild
Conceived as a musical companion to The Lost Words, the acclaimed 2017 book by renowned author Robert Macfarlane and award-winning illustrator Jackie Morris, Spell Songs is a folk supergroup responding with rich imagination and creativity to a work which seeks to shine a spotlight on the depletion of (and our declining connection to) the natural world.
Addressing the loss of nature-related vocabulary from modern language (shockingly, words like ‘acorn’, ‘kingfisher’, and ‘willow’ were removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary due to declining usage), The Lost Words was a profoundly moving tapestry of spoken word, whistling, poetry, song and painting.
“I usually like painting with the tears of my writers; today it’s Gateshead’s finest tap water” quipped Jackie Morris as she painted live on stage, her artwork projected in real-time. It created a layered sensory experience with her conjuring otters, foxes, and ravens out of the air and beautifully in step with the music. Tears flowed freely at the intro to Blessing, the final song. Jackie’s voice broke as she dedicated it to Jamie, the last words “let the raven guide you home” resonating deeply and prompting an extended standing ovation.
A masterful weaving of tales of gorse, herons, curlews, brambles, swifts, and moths, set to kora, electroharp, cello, Indian harmonium and more, this was an urgent, lyrical call to the wild.
