THE LOST WORDS: SPELL SONGS LIVE-STREAMED CONCERT

2 FEBRUARY, 8.15PM, NHM.AC.UK/SPELL-SONGS

Many of us have found joy and solace in the entrancing images and lyrical nature poetry of The Lost Words and The Lost Words: A Spell Book, with words by Robert Macfarlane and artworks by Jackie Morris. Now, you can see and hear the words brought to life in your own home in a free livestreamed concert.

In 2018, Folk by the Oak Festival commissioned eight nature-loving musicians to take Macfarlane’s words and create an album; The Lost Words: Spell Songs was released in 2019. Now, part two is in the making, due for release in June 2021. The music is born out of the same concerns that informed the books: the loss of our natural world and the need for a more compassionate view of the wild.

On 2 February, the Spell Songs Ensemble is staging a special livestreamed performance recorded at London’s Natural History Museum (NHM). Morris – who will be live painting to the music – and Macfarlane will join the musicians for an evening where music, birdsong, river chatter, insect hum, art and poetry combine forces to call for a more environmentally enlightened future.

The concert will raise money for the NHM’s new conservation project – aiming to transform the museum’s outdoor space into a centre for conservation research – and will be performed in Hintze Hall. For virtual VIP access to the experience, donate £10 or more here: nhm.ac.uk/spell-songs