Peter Lawson

Song of Summer Lady's Tresses Orchid

Score and parts. A Nonet for Wind Quintet, Violin, Viola, Violoncello & Contrabass
This is a rather sad epilogue to my musical portraits of the 48 Wild orchids of Britain and Ireland - a mysterious 49th. The orchid formerly occurred in two areas of the New Forest, Hampshire. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were as many as 200 flowering plants recorded yearly, dwindling to only 20 by the early 1930s. It is now classed as extinct in Britain, but there is always a lingering possibility of it being rediscovered or the orchid's microscopic, dust-like seeds could be carried in the winds of a storm from the near continent into other wetter areas elsewhere.
Each plant of Summer Lady's Tresses Spiranthes aestivalis has up to 20 white or cream, evening-scented flowers, arranged in a loose spiral and looking like a robust version of Autumn Lady's Tresses. The stem sometimes attains a height of 40 cm, with up to six upward-pointing, linear-lanceolate basal leaves and smaller, bract-like leaves up the stem. It favours damp meadows in slightly acid conditions and flowers from June to August. Its distribution is from North Africa northwards to Germany and eastwards to Turkey. The same problems with drainage of wet land have caused it to become extinct or threatened in more densely-populated countries.
The Song is scored as a nonet for wind quintet (with flute and clarinet doubling on piccolo and bass clarinet) and strings. After nine bars of a sombre chorale, a spooky four-bar 'extinction' motif is intoned. The mood gradually lightens and the pace quickens as the delightful characteristics of the orchid are remembered from times past, culminating in a transformation of the extinction motif into an almost triumphant proclamation. The music then becomes more playful and whimsical, but culminates in a dramatic, discordant warning of extinction. A mysterious link leads to ‘The Song' of the orchid itself, followed by an elegiac chorale: it is feared that the orchid may never return.
Then we move forward to the days of organised conservation - a busy baroque-like fugato section. After an increasing mood of optimism, it becomes apparent that there is still a huge amount of work to be done, particularly to the reversal of habitat-loss of wetlands. The extinction motif reappears to cast a shadowy question mark in the final bars. Peter Lawson
Duration 11½ minutes