• Avian metamorphoses for birds and ensemble (piccolo flute, clarinet, tenor sax doubling on soprano, tenor trombone, 4 high voices [2 sopranos and 2 altos / alternatively 2 countertenors and 2 tenors], 2 percussionists [vibraphone with pedal and motor, flexatone, suspended cymbal, whip, high wood block], keyboard, 1 violin, 1 guitar, 1 cello, 1 string bass, pre-recorded avian sounds and bird calls.

• Duration: 8' 30"
• In 1 movement
• Composed in 2015
• Commissioned by SG50 Secretariat
• First performance: 31.10.15 Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore
• ISMN 979-0-9016525-5-2
• Parts: To rent the parts, please email <rc@robertcasteels.com>
• Downloadable scores for inspection:
  Bird_Songs_opus_66_no2_Full_Score_V2_20170302__1_.pdf

Bird Songs opus 66 no. 2 composed in 2015 is the continuation of Bird Songs opus 66 no. 1 which was composed in 2009. Whereas the first series comprised the calls of species that are threatened with extinction, the second series lists all 39 species of birds that once were resident on the island of Singapore, but have since 1940 become extinct in Singapore. Opus 66 no. 2 is structured similarly to opus 66 no. 1, that is, a set of 12 variations on a 12-note row. The two series of Bird Songs can be viewed as an inseparable ensemble, a journey from artificial imitation (cloned birds) to forceful imprisonment (competition of singing birds in cages) to semi freedom (dawn chorus in an urban environment) to survival (species threatened with extinction) to extinction (species that effectively have disappeared in Singapore). The bird calls of those species extinct in Singapore were recorded in Malaysia and Indonesia. The premiere of Bird Songs opus 66 no. 2 took place on 31-10-2015 during a SG50 concert entitled Celebrating Nature in Singapore in the frame of the 6th Asian Bird Fair.