The Wisdom of Trees
Lessons from trees: 1. Belonging
The Wisdom of Trees for string orchestra and piano
What I’ve learnt from trees
With the ever-accelerating craziness of the world we have created, like many, I find refuge in what we call ‘nature’. We are of course part of nature. I find that trees make me calm. They make me stop and look – and then really look.
From a distance they make a statement of belonging to a place. This is where they grew and this is where they will stay until death moves them on.
Looking closer, the finer details tell us many stories about their lives. They are home to other living things. They are scarred, bent and broken. They reach toward the light and create shade. They are affected by their surroundings and, over time, change their surroundings.
As I began to stop and observe more closely, I took photos of their bark. Here is my first, from 2019.
The Wisdom of Trees is one of several meditations I’ve composed for orchestra. It was performed in 2022 by the fabulous Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Tranquillity, a concert featuring pieces suitable for meditation. The lights were dimmed, the audience was invited to use yoga mats and pillows, and though applause was discouraged the audience reaction was warm and positive. My piece shared the program with some big names.
I’ll be presenting my other meditation pieces, here in my newsletter, as demo recordings made with sampled instruments. When I can, I’ll record them with an orchestra – real musicians, playing real instruments, together in a room. An old-fashioned concept in an increasingly AI world.
The working title for this project is I Stand Silent – Six meditations on the life of trees. Here is the track list.
Check out the links above to listen and view.
Buy/download The Wisdom of Trees from Bandcamp
My approach to music for meditation and contemplation
Most music for meditation is gentle and soothing. While my meditation pieces do contain these elements, I like to feature melody and dynamics in my compositions. When I’m looking to immerse myself in music I like to be taken for a ride. A ride that doesn’t just have gently winding paths and nice views but also steep inclines and descents, surprising turns and wild places. I want to be returned home safely…but changed.
By Nature…
Trees are rooted to the earth
Stand still and silent
Slow the passing of time
About this newsletter
I started By Nature in the hope of reaching more people with my music. Music has been a powerful force in my life and why I chose to follow a lifetime of music-making. My goal has always been to create music that might give others the sense of wonder and meaning that music has given me.
If you would like to support my work, why not consider a paid subscription. I will post a new piece of music each month and the occasional additional item.
The Score
The Wisdom of Trees for string orchestra and piano - full score.
The music for The Wisdom of Trees came about after composing an extended piece for choir, string quartet and percussion called I Stand Silent. The text for this work was written by Australian author and my good friend and collabrator Phil Cummings. The piece was about deforestation and subtitled Requiem for a Forest. Here is the section of a demo I developed into The Wisdom of Trees.
I thought this would translate well into a work for orchestra and piano. I added the repetitive four bar piano phrase as a marker of the constancy and resilience of trees. The strings provide the background of a changing environment; sometimes benign other times confronting.
website: glynlehmann.com children's choir songs: songlibrary.net email: info@glynlehmann.com
Thank you, the piece is beautiful. And its always nice to find a fellow Aussie on substack.
Beautiful.