Peter Lawson

Burlesque in the Burren

Orchestration: Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass

Burlesque in the Burren started life as the third movement of the composer's 'The Grand Design Quartet', subtitled 'Song of the Common Spotted Orchid' - which is one of the cycle of musical portraits of the 48 wild orchids of Britain and Ireland. This movement referred to the subspecies o'kellyi, which is a pure white form, named after a schoolteacher in Ballyvaughan in the Burren in County Clare, Ireland, who found it growing in the local area. The Burren is a vast lunar-like area of unspoilt limestone pavement - a natural rockery for plants and a botanical dream for lime-loving plants.
This arrangement for string orchestra stays fairly close to the original, but the string parts are a little simpler, due to dividing the parts, and richer for the addition of double basses, which in many places have a separate line independent from the 'cellos. The music, which is jovial and scherzo-like, resembles an Irish Gig with a bit of a limp, as the time signature throughout changes from 9/8 to two bars of 6/8, so that there are 3 beats followed by 4 beats throughout - this serves also to drive the music forwards with confidence and exuberation. Peter Lawson
Duration 6 1/2 minutes