Conference of the BIrds

.A conference of birds? How absurd! But this is how 12th Century Sufi poet, Farid ud din Attar, chose to portray the desire and difficulties of Sufis in finding their relationship with God. Attar( think Attar of Roses) was a pharmacist by trade, living in Nishapur, Persia. His Allegory is one of the most famous poems of Persian literature.

After an invocation to the Almighty , the One, the birds gather. They need to find a King and in their stumbling progress they begin to find the Way to Truth itself. Led by the Hoopoe, the favourite bird of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, they set off with great enthusiasm. Gradually however their individual personalities emerge and clash with the Quest.The Peacock too vain, the Crow too dismal, the Falcon too proud. An Allegory of human failings on the Sufi journey to find the One.By the end they are both lost and found. “ And after a Night of Waking, walk alone with the Friend at Dawn”

Nick Pitts-Tucker’s version of the text cuts back a very long poem to its most appealing constituent parts. Each of eight birds merits a solo song. The Ensemble of Birds sing together as a chorus, sometimes in rapture, sometimes in confusion. Our Narrator helps the story along. Attar himself is here to explain his Sufi thoughts.

The musical score by Danyal Dhondy is a magical combination of vocal and instrumental forces. Neither purely Western nor purely Eastern, Danyal has balanced Solo and Ensemble voices , lyrical sound with clarity of diction. The instrumental interludes are conjured from a five piece band of piano, percussion, violin, Oud and flute. Much of their music is improvised, drawing from an infusion of Indian Ragas.

First performed in September 2020 in Windsor Great Park, the second performance took place in the West Pavilion of Stoke Park Pavilions by kind permission of Susanna Chancellor. The Musical Director was James Potter with Cantata Dramatica singers and band.

At the first performance we had many Persians in our audience. They said:“ We could not believe that a Western production could capture the beauty and power of Attar’s Allegory so perfectly”.