From the composer:

The Language of Birds was commissioned by RSCM Ireland for their 2015 awards service in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral on November 14th, and subsequently broadcast on RTÉ 1 on St Cecilia's Day, by the choirs of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, and St Bartholomew's Church, Dublin. Due to the nature of the commission, I chose lines from Christopher Smart's Jubilate Agno describing music, and the virtues of offering prayer through the medium of singing.

The title is a reference to an ancient Celtic pagan belief that animals – specifically birds – could commune directly with divinity through their birdsong. This idea seems to have been adopted by early Irish Christianity, as is reflected in much of the poetry and prayer which survives from that period.