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Birdsong / Can Yr Adar

Digital format — Album / Tracks

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also feat.
Kizzy Crawford and the Sinfonia Cymru
released
2018
Label
Basho Records
Catalogue no.
SRCD54-2

Birdsong – Cân yr Adar is a collaboration between jazz pianist/composer Gwilym Simcock, singer/songwriter Kizzy Crawford and award winning orchestra Sinfonia Cymru, which fuses jazz, classical and soul-folk music through a collection of spellbinding bilingual songs inspired by the ancient forests of Carngafallt in Powys.

There is a Celtic rainforest that lives and breathes in Wales. Birdsong / Cân Yr Adar tells a story through music inspired by RSPB Carngafallt, home to a complex ecosystem, which makes up some of the country’s rainforest territory and can be found near Powys.

Gwilym Simcock piano
Kizzy Crawford vocals and guitar

Sinfonia Cymru:
Simmy Singh Violin 1
Lucy McKay Violin 2
Francesca Gilbert Viola
Abel Selaocoe Cello
Sarah Bennett Flute
Carys Evans Horn

Music and lyrics by Kizzy Crawford and Gwilym Simcock, arranged by Gwilym Simcock

Reviews

Garry Booth, BBC Music Magazine

Birdsong is a simply beautiful concept daringly executed

Peter Quinn, Jazzwise

"the gorgeous melodies of Kizzy Crawford combine with the exquisite arrangements and production of Gwilym Simcock to produce one of the year’s most beautiful, surprising and joyous releases…this is a collection of songs that speak directly to the heart. Seamlessly blending the improvised with the fully notated, with plenty of space for soloing, this utterly singular statement deserves the widest possible audience"

Stig Abell, Front Row, BBCRadio4

"absolutely magnificent"

Gwilym and Kizzy Crawford appeared on Front Row on Friday 27th April.  You can hear the interview online at BBC Radio 4

London Jazz News Feature

The album is also feature in London Jazz News

Peter Quinn, Jazzwise

It's a passionate and, at times, overwhelming work, a stunning achievement that is, without question, one of the albums of the year.

Full Article Here

Nigel Jarrett, Wales Arts Review

one walks away from Birdsong infected by its unselfconscious belief that music can reflect what we’d like to see and what we should aim for without its being spelled out. It’s another creative step for Sinfonia Cymru and guest musicians, this time from different genres, who believe in productive alliances.

Jazz Views

`Into the Dark Mystical Beauty/Mewn ir Harddwch Tywyll Cyfriniol` is a particularly powerful piece in terms of the emotional impact it engenders and there are a number of joyful jig like songs to lighten the atmosphere, one of which , `Owl Song/Can y Gwdihw`, brings the cycle to a close exhorting us in the words of Albert Einstein – which are incorporated into Kizzy’s thoughtful lyrics and laid out in the accompanying booklet – to “Look deep into nature” an activity that has always been encouraged by listening to beautiful music of the type brought to us in this delightful and thought provoking work.

Upcoming concerts

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