American Chestnut

for clarinet, violin, cello, piano and electronic sound

About

American chestnut trees once dominated the northeastern forests of North America. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a fatal fungal pathogen (cryphonectria parasitica) was introduced to the continent by the import of chestnut trees from blight-resistant areas of the world. While those species of chestnut had millennia to develop immune strategies to fight this pathogen, the American chestnut was obliterated by this blight; approximately 80% of the trees in the Appalachian Mountain chain were destroyed. The American chestnut has been considered functionally extinct for decades; however, new research offers a ray of hope. Efforts to restore the American chestnut include breeding programs to create blight-resistant hybrids and the discovery of naturally resistant trees. Despite challenges, ongoing research and collaboration aim to reintroduce these trees across their historical range, with promising results from trials and the identification of surviving pure American chestnuts.

The musical gestures in this piece are inspired by the textures of the American chestnut tree, including the bark and the patterns of the wood grain from the heartwood, such as straight, interlocked, and spiral grain patterns. The work is a reimagining of the state of the species over its history, from tragedy to an imagined future where this giant dominates the forests of North America once again.

www.apsnet.org/edcenter/apsnetfe…lightDisease.aspx
blog.ncagr.gov/2024/05/03/the-fi…merican-chestnut/
www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…356?via%3Dihub

Release date: 18 November 2024