The Lost Birds

The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy is the fourth studio album by the American composer Christopher Tin. The music was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Voces8.

The Lost Birds
Studio album by Christopher Tin
Released	30 September 2022 (2022-09-30)
Recorded	Abbey Road; Voces8 Centre
Label	Decca Classics
Christopher Tin chronology
To Shiver the Sky (2020) The Lost Birds (2022)

The album of twelve movements, ten of which use texts by poets Emily Dickinson, Sara Teasdale, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Cristina Rossetti, along with two purely instrumental tracks.^[1] Unlike Tin's previous works, all movements of the piece are sung in English.^{[2][time needed]} The album is a musical memorial to bird species driven to extinction by humankind and a celebration of their beauty, while also presenting a warning about humanity's own tenuous existence on the planet.^[1]

It was nominated for the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
BBC Music Magazine	[5]
Choir & Organ	[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics adapted from poem(s) by[1]	Length
1.	"Flocks a Mile Wide"		5:16
2.	"The Saddest Noise" (featuring Voces8)	Emily Dickinson	4:31
3.	"Bird Raptures" (featuring Voces8)	Christina Rossetti	4:46
4.	"A Hundred Thousand Birds" (featuring Voces8)	Christina Rossetti	2:48
5.	"Wild Swans" (featuring Voces8)	Edna St. Vincent Millay	4:10
6.	"Intermezzo"		1:58
7.	"Thus in the Winter" (featuring Voces8)	Edna St. Vincent Millay	3:56
8.	"There Will Come Soft Rains" (featuring Voces8)	Sara Teasdale	5:25
9.	"All That Could Never Be Said" (featuring Voces8)	Sara Teasdale	2:22
10.	"I Shall Not See the Shadows" (featuring Voces8)	Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson	4:07
11.	"In the End" (featuring Voces8)	Sara Teasdale	1:35
12.	"Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" (featuring Voces8)	Emily Dickinson	4:46

Charts

The Lost Birds débuted on Billboard's Traditional Classical Albums chart at rank 2 for the week of October 15, 2022.^[7]

Chart	Peak position
US Traditional Classical Albums (Billboard)[7]	2

References

1. Tin, Christopher (2022). The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy (PDF) (Booklet). Decca Classics. 4858030.
2. "Christopher Tin and VOCES8 discuss 'The Lost Birds'". Facebook Live. October 5, 2022.
3. Hopper, Alex (15 November 2022). "The Recording Academy Announces 2023 Grammy Nominees". American Songwriter.
4. Manheim, James. "Christopher Tin: The Lost Birds - An Extinction Elegy Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
5. Franks, Rebecca (December 2022). "Christopher Tin: The Lost Birds". Brief Notes. BBC Music Magazine. 31 (2): 100.
6. Reed, Philip (January–February 2023). "Christopher Tin: The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy". Reviews: Choral CDs. Choir & Organ. 31 (1): 67. EBSCOhost 160664527.
7. • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of October 15, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved October 16, 2022. This Week: 2
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of October 22, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved October 25, 2022. This Week: 7
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of October 29, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved November 7, 2022. This Week: 7
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of November 5, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved November 7, 2022. This Week: 4
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of November 12, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved November 13, 2022. This Week: 7
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of November 19, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved November 21, 2022. This Week: 5
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of November 26, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved December 4, 2022. This Week: 4
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of December 3, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved December 4, 2022. This Week: 6
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of December 10, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved January 26, 2023. This Week: 14
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of December 17, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved January 26, 2023. This Week: 12
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of December 24, 2022". Billboard Charts. Retrieved January 26, 2023. This Week: 13
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of January 7, 2023". Billboard Charts. Retrieved January 26, 2023. This Week: 13 [Re-entry]
   • "Traditional Classical Albums: Week of January 14, 2023". Billboard Charts. Retrieved January 26, 2023. This Week: 15

Further reading

• Pitman, Edwina (October 1, 2022). "In the Studio, Christopher Tin - The Lost Birds". BBC World Service.
• Neroes, Quentin (October 17, 2022). "The Lost Birds Christopher Tin, Barnaby Smith, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, VOCES8". Have You Heard?. WQXR. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
• Smith, David. "Christopher Tin on The Lost Birds". Interview. Presto Music. No. January 22, 2023.
• Wolf, Chris (November 14, 2022). "The Lost Birds Project: Grammy winning composer writes new work dealing with loss of bio-diversity". Classic107.

External links

• WOSU Public Media (October 28, 2022). Composer Christopher Tin on The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy (YouTube video).