The first movement, Eó Mugna, references the great oak whose roots extend to Connla's Well in the "otherworld," and stands guard over what is the source of the River Shannon and the font of all wisdom. The well is probably the source of all music, too. The inspiration for this movement is the Irish Uilleann pipe, a distant ancestor of the bassoon, whose music evokes the spirit of Mugna and the sacred well.


The second movement, Tortan, conjures a tree that has been associated with witches and as a result, the fiddle appears, sawing away, as it is conjoined with the music of the bassoon. The Irish Bodhrán drum assists.


Movement three, Eó Rossa (or The Tree of Ross) evokes a yew, and although the yew is often referred to as a symbol of death and destruction, and the Tree of Ross is the subject of much rhapsodizing in the literature. It is referred to as "a mother's good," "Diadem of angels," and "faggot of the sages." Hence, the lyrical character of this movement, wherein the bassoon incants and is accompanied by the harp.


Movement four, Craeb Uisnig, refers to an ash which has been described by Robert Graves as a source of strife. Thus, a ghostly battle, where all that is heard as the phantoms struggle is the snapping of twigs on the forest floor.


The final movement, Dathi, is named for a tree which purportedly exercised authority over the poets and was the last tree to fall. The bassoon soliloquizes as it ponders the secrets of the trees.

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Duration: 22 minutes
Premiere Date: 1995