Year | 2019
Duration | 23’
Instrumentation | Soprano and String Quartet
Commissioned by the Queensland Music Festival and Bush Heritage Australia

The Night Parrot is a musical tale of hope. For nearly a century, the night parrot was believed to be extinct. That is until recently, when the species was sighted nestled amongst the spinifex in regional Queensland.

Jessica’s program note for The Night Parrot is below:

The story of the Night Parrot is a fascinating one. Prior to its rediscovery in 2013, this “Holy Grail” for bird enthusiasts only existed in historical evidence from over 130 years ago when 30 or so birds were hunted, stuffed and sent off to museums or Victorian drawing rooms as trophies.

Bringing this story to life in poetry, my father Jeff spent a lot of time researching the history of the Night Parrot and concocting a fantastic ballad-style poem that takes the audience on a journey into a landscape that is quintessentially outback Queensland and expresses the human endeavour that had almost destroyed and has now saved this little bird.

The music evokes the vast and sparse outback environment that this bird inhabits. It examines the predators and dangers that threaten its existence. It journeys to Victorian England and the posh drawing rooms where stuffed birds were sent. It re-enacts the first time a bird was held in human hands for over 130 years. And finally, it reflects on the importance of the effort to preserve the species now and in the future.