Sunrise Hymnal

TUÌ CHORUS, Triptych, Oil on canvas, 36x54”

Focus - on every next step....

My eyes adjust to the dim light on the lower track of Mt Holdsworth and I don’t want to lose footing. I hit a good pace, racing the rising sun. I’m in the dark of the bush for a while.. as gentle light aids my sight, I know I won’t make the Hut for sunrise. I will be in the trees. I keep my pace.

A distinct tui trill rises into treetops growing into song. The call bounces through the bush and dissolves my solitude. From a remote height in the distance, a response rings out. The initiating bird repeats his song, clear and strong. Another calls back in repetition. From every direction, from every dimension, the chorus grows in voice and volume, a Sunrise Forum. The roundtable of tui lifts a unified voice as council. Their song envelops the forest and in it, me.

Interloper and witness to dawn’s chorus, I hold my breath so as not to disrupt or maybe to hide myself. The chorus fades into a gentle banter of smaller bush birds, the song still reverberates. Persistent light pushes through the thickest cover, giving shape to shadows as night gives way t the Sun.

I remain shaken, affected.

Is this sunrise hymnal a daily ritual? Do the songs change? What divine rite had I stumbled into? How do I paint such a visceral auditory experience?

How do I share this?