Single out now: Erland Cooper "Dawn Chorus - I. Paradisaea - Andante moderato"

Erland Cooper has announced Dawn Chorus, a moving and at times exultant new album, a concerto for solo violin and 100-piece orchestra. Inspired by the natural symphony of song performed by birds each morning and by Sir David Attenborough’s extraordinary legacy in his 100th birthday year, Cooper - hailed by The Guardian as “nature’s songwriter” weaves the evocative avian world and the rhythms of morning life into a musical tribute of wonder and celebration of the natural world. While his first violin concerto was buried in the earth to “decompose then recompose” with the soil, his second is expanded in scale and imagined as a piece ideally to be performed at dawn, its three movements evoking daybreak in a forest, a town and on the Scottish coast.

You can listen to the first single ‘Paradisaea - Andante Moderato’ taken from the first movement here. You can preorder Dawn Chorus limited edition vinyl and CD here.

Recorded in Glasgow by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and acclaimed violinist Freya Goldmark (Ligeti Quartet, Classic FM Rising Star 2025) Dawn Chorus was produced by Matthew Swan and conducted by Finland’s Janne Nisonen. It will be released on 20th November, ahead of its world premiere performance at Glasgow City Halls on 26th November. Inspired by ecosystems, birdsong and the bright wonders of the natural world, Dawn Chorus is a celebration of life, renewal and our enduring connection to the landscapes around us. Across three movements, Cooper imagines the first light of day as a shared moment of hope, awakening and possibility, bringing together intimate solo violin with some of his most expansive orchestral writing to date.

“This is a sort of sonic portrait of our great oak, Sir David Attenborough, set in orchestral form. I hope it generates a little wonder and reflects, in some small way, his ability to encourage others in deep listening, seeing and appreciation of the living and breathing world around us. At times it may feel like an elegy for what we are losing but more than anything, I hope it touches on the extraordinary quality and fragility of life on earth together” Cooper.

As one of Scotland’s most unique, prolifically creative and consistently engaging artists, the natural world has long sat at the heart of the Emmy nominated composer’s work, from his native Orkney landscapes to deeper explorations of ecology, place, time and our relationship with the environment. With Dawn Chorus, his fascination expands in scale without sacrificing its intimacy, in a work Cooper hopes might one day even be performed live at the break of dawn itself.

Directed by Lewis Gourley.“For me inspiration tends to come from a reconnection with anything that is not human made - other than art. These tend to bring the greatest mystery and joy and are more often than not found in the natural world or through friends and family” Cooper

DAWN CHORUS – Full Tracklist

1. Movement I. Paradisaea – Andante2. Movement I. Paradisaea – Cadenza

3. Movement I. Paradisaea – Andante Moderato

4. Movement II. Erithacus rubecula – Cadenza

5. Movement II. Erithacus rubecula – Allegretto

6. Movement II. Erithacus rubecula – Senza misura

7. Movement III. Fratercula arctica – Andante

8. Movement III. Fratercula arctica – Sognando

9. Movement III. Fratercula arctica – Finale

10. Unfolding Landscapes – Pt. 1

11. Unfolding Landscapes – Pt. 2