Doves in the Wild was written as a short depiction of the Spotted Dove - its speech, its
movements, and its story. I watched a youtube video showing a mother Dove teaching its
children to fly. They start off being rather apprehensive, but slowly gain the confidence to
make the leap. You can hear the hesitation in their calls to the mother Dove.
The alto flute represents the dove slowly gaining the confidence to fly as a young
nestling. I transcribed and simplified the Spotted Dove's birdcall into a short recurring
phrase which gets stronger, and more energetic as time passes. Eventually, the dove
sings in rhythm, with a bit of swagger.
This work was written to be performed alongside a dancer, as part of the Senate of Birds
project, a multi-disciplinary work produced by Phoon Yu and Samuel Phua.