Adele O'Dwyer

Written for small chamber ensemble including violin, cello, accordion and percussion, Black is the Earth reflects in sound the evolution of the peat boglands bringing to the fore the cyclical nature of this most unique of landscapes. Taking inspiration from the icey beginnings where large expanses of land were blanketed in ice followed by the slow and gradual changes in tempurature which gave rise to the formation of lakes and to the forestation of the land – to the arrival of man and the working of the land – to the unique spiritual, cultural and evolutionary history which has been preserved in the unique oxygen deprived boglands – and finally to the cyclical nature of the bogland; a return to the earth as growth beginnings anew.

Written in five sections played in a continuous manner, the music aims to bring the listener on a journey of imagery and emotion closing in a sense of hope for the future of the peat boglands and their place in modern society. Opening with an abstract panarama of “icey” sounds, a slow moving melodic motif emerges and gathers energy. As the tempurature rises, a long tumbling sequence of notes signals the arrival of the transforming qualities of water and the beginnings of growth. The pulse of the earth is represented by a throbbing rearticulated tone around which the beginnings of life unfold gathering pace and finally blooming into a full rich melodic fabric.

The arrival of man is marked by the energetic rhythm of feet and implements of work bringing with it all the colourful sounds of human existence and activity. As the fevour of work subsides the music calms the composition closes with a reflective and passionate prayer – a return to the earth.