The three sections of this piece take the singer from the perspective of 1. observer, to 2. observer with chickadee finding its voice, to 3. a three-way conversation of chikadees communicating during their first freedom flight.
The first section introduces the text which is intended to inspire empathy and respect for this tender life form.
The second section introduces the chickadee call in voice one partnered with the narrative voice part from section one. The two-part harmony continues in parallel thirds. The sixteenth-note figure in measures 28 and 36 suggests fluttering feathers. The composite 3 against 2 rhythm occurs once between the voices at measure 30. At measure 38, the music indicates the leaving of the nest and the bird's first flight.
In section three, voices one and two and the piano create a joyful chickadee chatter in a call-and response style which culminates in a fluttering duet of thirds. Each voice is similar, yet independent, initially creating that unsteady feeling that comes with first flights! Steady on....!
Britten's pacifist masterwork, combining war poetry by Wilfred Owen with the Latin Requiem Mass, is included in the Masterworks Library of full scores, ideal for conductors, students and music lovers.
