John Williams

John Williams

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...

 composed The Five Sacred Trees for Judith LeClair

Judith LeClair

Judith LeClair , from Newark, Delaware, is an American bassoonist.She has been the principal bassoon in the New York Philharmonic since 1981 and on the faculty at the Juilliard School since 1985, LeClair began studying the instrument at age 11 and began her professional career at the age of 15 in a...

, the principal bassoonist of the New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

 in 1995, to honor the orchestra's 150th anniversary. The first performance was given by LeClair and the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur on April 13 of that year. The orchestra consists of three flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, harp, piano, celesta, and strings. Performance time is approximately 26 minutes. Inspiration for the work also comes from the writings of British poet and novelist Robert Graves

Robert Graves

Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...

.

Movements

The work is composed of five movements, each representing a tree from ancient Celtic mythology.

Eó Mugna

The first movement of the concerto is Eó Mugna, named after the oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

. It opens with a long bassoon solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 that lends solemnity to the piece.
Eó Mugna, the great oak, whose roots extend to Connia's Well in the "otherworld," stands guard over what is the source of the River Shannon and the font of all wisdom. The well is probably the source of Mugna and the sacred well. - John Williams

Tortan

The second movement is Tortan, the tree associated with magic, especially witchcraft. This movement features both the bassoon and the violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

Tortan is a tree that has been associated with witches, and as a result, the fiddle appears, sawing away as it is conjoined with the music of the bassoon. The Irish bodhrán drum assists. - John Williams

Eó Rossa

The third movement, Eó Rossa, is named after the yew. This tree had power over destruction and rebirth. It opens with a long harp

Harp

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

 solo.
The Tree of Ross (or Eó Rosa) is a yew, and although the yew is often referred to as a symbol of death and destruction, The Tree of Ross is often the subject of much rhapsodizing in the literature. It is referred to as "a mother's good," "Diadem of the Angels," and "faggot of the sages." Hence the lyrical character of this movement, wherein the bassoon oncants [sic] and is accompanied by the harp! - John Williams

Craeb Uisnig

The fourth movement represents Craeb Uisnig, the ash

Ash tree

Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...

. The ash was typically associated with strife. It is the shortest and least melodic movement.
Craeb Uisnig is an ash and has been described by Robert Graves as a source of strife. Thus, a ghostly battle, where all that is heard as the phantoms struggle is the snapping of twigs on the forest floor. - John Williams

Dathi

The last movement is Dathi, named after tree that was the muse. The movement is slow and melancholy, featuring the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 as well as the bassoon. There is no gap between movements four and five.
Dathi, which purportedly exercised authority over the poets, and was the last tree to fall, is the subject for the close of the piece. The bassoon soliloquizes as it ponders the secrets of the trees. - John Williams

Recordings

The work has been recorded by LeClair and the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

, with Williams conducting. The recording is published by Sony Classical.