Birdsong – Whispers in the Woods

One of my favourite things currently going on at Heldeke! is when events hijack the Wednesday and Sunday sauna sessions to bring music and more to the audience, clothed or otherwise. On 31 August, Elyrie Anya Rose and Dylan Halldorson took their first spin together in front of the red curtains as Whispers in the Woods, with the show Birdsong, a tightly thematic effort for a duo that only recently began collaborating.

The stage is bedecked with curling ivy and fairy lights, curling around the chairs and various stands to be used by the performers. The musicians appear in dreamy, forest-informal attire: Halldorson in a simple loose shirt, vest, and trousers, and Rose crowned with a mass of curls, wearing a corset and layered skirt with floating strips of tulle, her jewelry simple and strategic. They move amongst the audience as the crowd filters in, greeting friends and family before settling in to perform.

This stage is no stranger to Rose, who I’ve met through Heldeke!’s Karaoke Party, and she sets her microphone to high reverb to the accompaniment of Halldorson’s delicate, resonant finger-picked acoustic. Her voice is ethereal, operatic above the rolling dynamism of the guitar, with enough power and presence to not need elaborate choreography to grab and hold attention. Her hands are frequently in motion, however, as she adds flourishes to lyrics and taps fingertip-rings to her necklace for clicking percussion.

Their presentation is intentionally Tolkienesque, a nymph and her woodland knight, as they move through songs that each brought to their partnership. Halldorson whistles on Speaker of Trees, and throughout the evening Rose sings in Estonian, English, and Elvish. The guitar is pulsing and vibrant, her eyes glitter with mischief and emotion. Technically, the effects are well-deployed on both strings and vocals, and breathing becomes its own percussion.

Sauna-goers who arrive mid-show are caught surprised and spellbound, though ultimately drawn past the stage and into the sauna itself, followed by the drifting melodies that come, Rose informs us, from a place of both listening and healing. I’m beset with goosebumps at least once per song, and am not alone in my wonder.

Whispers in the Woods do not yet have another show planned for the Tallinn Fringe Festival or otherwise, but I genuinely hope they are working on both further live performances and recordings. I would love to see them on bigger stages, although if they haven’t already planned collaborations with The Headless Chicken they need to get there already. They can be found on Instagram in the meantime, and hopefully on stage at Heldeke! soon – with originals or karaoke, or even karaoke of their originals. We await further enchantment.

Author: Laurie

Laurie likes alliteration, ambiance, and lists with three things.