Peter Lawson

Song of the Dense-Flowered Orchid

Written in 2007 for Mari Hikichi, Kei Ito and Reiko Isobe for a concert in Tokyo, the Song of the Dense-flowered Orchid - for flute, bass clarinet and piano - is the 28th in a series of musical portraits of the 48 wild orchids of Britain and Ireland - some for solo or chamber groups and some for orchestral forces.
The Dense-flowered Orchid, Neotinea intacta, (or N. maculata) is mainly confined to Mediterranean regions but there exists a strange pocket of the species in Western Ireland, where, presumably it is a relic from warmer times and where it evidently survived the ice-age, but became detached from the Mediterranean colonies. Here, it mainly grows in grassland with many other rarities - amongst the clints and grikes which make up the huge limestone pavement on the strange lunar landscape of the Burren, County Clare. It was also discovered in 1969 in the Isle of Man, growing in calcareous sand.
The Song of the Dense-flowered Orchid begins with a series of chords representing the pink, white and green petals, over which a plaintive Air in Irish folk-style is played - two octaves apart, this being the theme for a loose set of variations, the first being the theme set against rows of bell-like chords, like the spirals of flowers. The second variation is frolicsome and playful and the third is in the 'pink' key. The fourth leads to a short development section and a triumphant recapitulation of the first variation. A sinister interlude represents the orchid underground in winter after which we cut to the following spring with more increasingly light-hearted variations as flowering time approaches. As the orchid sets seed, there are nostalgic echoes of the flowering period and finally a jovial glance forward to next-year's fun and games.

Duration about 9 1/2 minutes