Ideas of flight

Last weekend as part of the Norwich Arts Festival I saw the Voice Project's Ideas of Flight, Sian Croose's most ambitious venture yet, which combined  100 voices, plus soloists, Andy Sheppard on saxophone (I've seen him perform with the Voice Project a couple of years back), the Trio Zephyr string quartet, together with the  beautiful visual treat of the nave of the Cathedral covered in the projected shadows of bird flight. Devised by Sian and Jonathan Baker, with poetry by among others Andrew Motion and Maura Dooley, put to music by Jonathan plus Karen Wimhurst, Barbara Thompson and Orlando Gough, the evening was rich with soothing music interspersed by the singers' impersonations of birdsong.
'Here are the sky-nails they asked you for
So long ago
and this their purpose,
in fixing our eyes to the heavens a moment
the heart lifts'   Maura Dooley
 http://www.voiceproject.co.uk/   http://voiceproject2.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/19th-february-ideas-of-flight-voice-project-choir-taster-session/
Afterwards we followed the magical stiltwalkers of the Companie des Quidams, swathed like Arabs in volumnious white fabric, out of the Cathedral where they draped themselves against the Cathedral entrance as if they were part of its stone decoration, then around Cathedral Close, where their fabric tranformed into giant lanterns.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76ln3BycITo http://www.quidams.com/Reve-d-Herbert.html?lang=en 

The festival continues until 26th March   http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/ http://www.edp24.co.uk/mobile/news/norfolk_concert_series_is_inspired_by_the_songs_of_birds_1_2188477