Menagerie of Endangered Creatures: Blue, Vanishing
I. Prelude
II. Critical (2:35)
III. Kaleidoscopic (7:07)

Performed by Ina Zdorovetch, harp

Menagerie of Endangered Creatures is a part of Luke Blackburn’s (b. 1992) Menagerie Series, a collection of multimovement “docu-compositions” originally based on Camille Saint-Saens’s Le carnival des animaux. Each suite within the collection considers the world from the perspective of various creatures or plants, usually native to the local environment where the piece is premiered. The series embodies the principle of conservation as an artistic practice by raising awareness of endangered species, promoting ecological preservation, and introducing audiences to their natural world.

Blue, Vanishing was commissioned by the Lyra Society, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit promoting harp education, after Blackburn was named winner of their 2021 Costello Composition Competition for his “very witty and imaginative” harp writing in Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta (2020).

The initial inspiration for Blue, Vanishing came from Blackburn’s research of the Cyclargus (=Hemiargus) thomasi bethunebakeri (commonly known as Miami Blue), an endangered butterfly native to south Florida and the Florida Keys. Upon further investigation, Blackburn discovered that within the United States, fully one third (8 out of 24) of the endangered butterflies listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are a sub-family of Lycaenidaes called Polyommatinae, or “Blue” butterflies. This list includes the Miami Blue, El Segundo Blue (Euphilotes battoides allyni), Smith’s Blue (Euphilotes enoptes smithi), Palos Verdes Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis), Mission Blue (Incaricai icarioides missionensis), Mount Charleston Blue (Icaricai [Plebejus] shasta charlestonensis), Lotis Blue (Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis), Fender’s Blue (Icaricia icarioides fenderi), and the Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis). Additionally, the United States has seen the extinction of at least one member of Blue sub-family in the last hundred years, the Xerces Blue (Glaucopstche Xerces). Together, these Blues are more than twice as endangered as any other butterfly family in the United States. Karner Blue butterflies are even considered the “rarest butterfly in the world.”

Each movement of Blue, Vanishing is meant to paint a certain period in the existence of these butterflies. The first movement (Prelude) is meant to represent the “before”— before humans and global warming wreaked havoc on their native habitats over the last century, a time when Blues were unharmed and free to thrive. The second movement (Critical) confronts the current state of these butterflies as critically endangered. Even with the assistance of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and tireless efforts by conservationists, these butterflies remain rarely seen and extremely fragile. The final movement (Kaleidoscopic, referencing the collective noun for a large gathering of butterflies) explores what the world could be like if we did our part to protect these endangered creatures. Building from nothing, a broken melody begins to emerge. The pitches B–A–C (“back”—meant to represent the great efforts of butterfly conservationists who work to bring these creatures back to their historical numbers) continue to repeat, each time evolving into something more substantial, musically referencing the original rhythmic component from the prelude, as the endangered butterfly species begin to return to their former glory.

Menagerie Series

Menagerie of Endangered Creatures - Blue, Vanishing

Metamorphosis of Plants (2022)
World Premiere - April 2, 2022
Dinosaur Annex - Slosberg Recital Hall, Brandeis University

Program Note:
Blackburn’s “Metamorphosis of Plants'' touches on several aspects of his personal and professional identities. As an environmentalist, Blackburn is expanding his Anamilia “docu-composition” research to include plant life. The piece will interpret a poem by Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe—with whom Blackburn is directly related—“The Metamorphosis of Plants” through a theme and variation form, exploring the idea of musical development as a metaphor for evolution and a species’ ability to survive and prosper.

Metamorphosis of Plants

MoEC: Georgia Aves - IV. Golden-winged Warbler

MoEC: Georgia Aves - III. Red-cockaded Woodpecker

MoEC: Georgia Aves - I. Piping Plover, II. Woodstork

Concrete Currents, Concerto for oboe and chamber ensemble (2022)
I. Downstream
II. anadromous
III. Upstream
[all movements are attacca]

World Premiere: 
Collage New Music, David Hoose, music director, Peggy Pearson, oboe
October 16, 2022, Killian Hall - MIT, Cambridge, MA

Program Note:
The idea for Concrete Currents grew out of a personal interest in anadromous fish inspired by a multi-week kayaking trip in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Anadromous fish are born in freshwater but spend most of their lives in saltwater, only returning to freshwater to spawn. Examples include several species of trout, striped bass, sturgeon, and probably the best-known of all anadromous fish, salmon. After seeing numerous salmon on their journey upstream during my excursion, I wondered why this was not a phenomenon I could observe with Atlantic salmon near my home in Boston. After some deep diving, I learned that Atlantic salmon used to be plentiful throughout New England, but since the industrialization of the nineteenth century, many species have been declared extirpated from numerous native habitats due to logging and soil erosion, as well as dam and mill construction. The title “Concrete Currents” refers to the struggle of anadromous fish battling through human-constructed concrete structures such as dams.

The first movement, Downstream, opens with a delicate ripple in the piano. Soon after, the oboe enters—small and fragmented. These two- and three-note fragments continue to grow in timbre, texture, and technique. Suddenly, descending scales and arpeggios begin flooding the space, supporting the strings (using E-flat as an anchor) as they ride the strengthening stream. Downstream continues developing all of the opening musical fragments, eventually cascading into a wild current. Much like whitewater rapids, the river is moving with force, hardly allowing anyone in its current the opportunity to notice a motive before it is swept away. After a brief moment of calm, the current begins to intensify; this time, however, engulfing the whole ensemble, crashing into the vast ocean.

As the frothy brackish water begins to dissipate, the Anadromous fish finds itself in the vast open ocean. The strings, alto flute, bass clarinet, and tam-tam fluctuate with one another. Burgeoning harmonies move in and out of sync, with the tide. The oboe is drifting at its own pace, allowing the ocean’s current to guide its journey, gravitating towards E-natural. Once immersed in this seascape, the harp and piano act like small bits of sediment that reflect the sun’s rays. 

Without pause, nascent energy emerges—first in the viola, then in the violin. Slowly, the ensemble summons the courage to face the perilous journey Upstream. Before long, ascending scales erupt as the oboe pushes forward. The scale, avoiding resolution, continues fighting itself, constantly maneuvering around obstacles such as the accents in the bass clarinet, cello, and bass drum. Midway, the oboe finds itself battling against a dam of sound. Large punctuations from three ensemble groupings (flute, bass clarinet, and strings; the harp and piano; and the harp and bass drum). Frantically, the oboe forces its way through the sound masses, only to find the journey is not over. More ascending scales in the harp and piano quietly rip away from the disruptive bass drum. Eventually, the flute, bass clarinet, and strings are asked to play the scale as fast as possible, crashing into the piano’s mass. The oboe, continuously growing stronger, is able to fight through the flood of notes and the piano’s aggressive punches, bursting out of the ensemble on its final assent to E#.

Concrete Currents

Because of its uniquely beautiful, snowy feathers, a swan catches the wandering eye, even from a distance. But what happens to the swan’s ivory silhouette when it remains in the winter? How does the swan feel when the warm, colorful landscape surrounding it fades into a frosted world? As swirling snowflakes quickly cover everything that was once green, the swan suddenly disappears into the void. No longer noticed, how does this majestic creature feel as it roams around, completely enveloped by a world that has stolen the hue of its feathers? In times past considered sacred by the gods, the swan now lies forgotten by the human and the divine, transformed into a frosted mirage.

Frosted Mirage

Though Exocoetidae /ɛkso-soʊɛ-tɪ-di/ is the scientific name for a flying fish, this piece is not designed to evoke an impressionistic musical scene. Instead, it is inspired by the flying fish’s unique ability to glide over the ocean for hundreds of feet, reaching altitudes up to twenty feet above the surface, thus giving the fish a special understanding of two elements: water and air. This is the idea that spawned Exocoetidae. Blackburn explores these natural elements with two simple structures: scales and arpeggios. Throughout the piece, the music constantly moves between these techniques, both on a small scale (within a single motif) and large-scale (foreground textures), allowing the music to exist in both elements, as the extraordinary flying fish does.

Exocoetidae

Recorded Live: 
Premiere performance by the Ludovico Ensemble, under the direction of Jeffrey Means. As part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of Creative Arts, Slosberg Hall. April 12, 2019.

Note:
Noctiluca––also known as ‘sea sparkle’––is neither plant nor animal, but a single-celled planktonic organism called a dinoflagellate, which ingests other plankton. With diameters typically of about 0.5mm, dinoflagellates are hard to see with the naked eye. But when they bloom en masse–often due to excess nutrients in the water–they can form a red slime. At night, however, when these tiny organisms are disturbed by movement, such as footsteps or pounding surf, they emit a brilliant blue glow. There is a darker side to bioluminescent blooms that are linked to two environmental problems: they often occur around bays with river mouths, and they’re also more frequent after heavy rainfall. Both suggest pollution and agricultural run-off are leading to a concentration of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen in the water causing populations to explode. According to Australia Geographic, “The spread of sea sparkle is also linked to climate change. Before 1994 they’d rarely been seen around Tasmania. But as waters have warmed, this has become one of the most common places in Australia to see them.” So, while there’s no question these marine equivalents of the aurora borealis are beautiful to behold, there’s a more complicated and worrisome story behind their growing prevalence.

Sea Sparkle

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
I. Introductio et Danaus Plexippus (Introduction and Monarch Butterfly)

MoSC: Insecta – I. Introductio et Danaus Plexippus

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
II. Dynastes Hercules (Hercules Beetle)

MoSC: Insecta – II. Dynastes Hercules

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
III. Corixidæ (Water Boatman)

MoSC: Insecta - III. Corixidæ

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
V. Scarabæinæ (True Dung Beetle)

MoSC: Insecta – V. Scarabæinæ

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
VI. Culicidæ (Mosquito)

MoSC: Insecta – VI. Culicidæ

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
VII. Lampyridæ (Firefly)

MoSC: Insecta – VII. Lampyridæ

Menagerie of Spectacular Creatures: Insecta
VIII. Finalis (Finale)

MoSC: Insecta – VIII. Finalis

Luke Blackburn is an American composer and bassoonist based in Boston, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington. As a composer, Luke focuses on depicting various scenes based on his own observations and experiences from around the world; though often representing his many memories growing up near the ocean in his hometown in Florida. However, Luke is shifting his compositions and research in innovative ways by combining his musical platform with issues of nature conservation. This is happening on a personal level (through his ecomusical research), and on a local and national level (composing works for children and the concert hall) to promote awareness of endangered species and preserving our ocean ecosystems.

Luke Blackburn

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