Wren

Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble, Wren (2019) by Adrienne Inglis sets Robert Macfarlane’s acrostic poem of the same name for mixed chorus and flute. With quick harmonic changes, syncopations, and melodic gestures, the composition captures a sense of the charming poem as well as the actual Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) found year round throughout the United Kingdom. Macfarlane’s poem Wren comes from his 2017 illustrated poetry book, The Lost Words, which conjures pictures of wild things and untamed spaces that get shortchanged in modern urban life.