‘Flying with the Birds Dream’ on the airwaves

Bird flying through clouds. By Bradley Dunn

I have to admit, I still feel a thrill when I find out my CD’s been played on the radio – and I hope I never get too “cool” for that!

‘Flying with the Birds Dream’ was one of the first pieces I chose to be on my debut CD, ‘Dusk to Dawn’. Although it wasn’t written for me, it always felt like it was; I totally identified with the piece as flying has always been a regular feature of my dreams, and the music completely transported me into a vivid dreamworld. It was heart-warming to hear that version of me playing it once more – assured and exuberant in flight, paired with moments of stoic introspection. Five years later, I certainly don’t play it exactly the same way, and rightly so. To be an artist is to continually learn and allow our experiences to heighten and inform our performances. Plus, a recording is just one snapshot of a piece. Each performance is unique, and sometimes, a little piece of magic happens with the energy that exists that one time in that one place with those exact people. I’m looking forward to enjoying this sensation again when I perform this wonderful piece, along with a few others by Sue Rothstein, at the World Harp Congress in Cardiff. In the meantime, you can catch up with the July 1st episode of Essential Classics with Georgia Mann until the end of the month via BBC Sounds.