The Five Sacred Trees. Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra by John Williams (United States) *English Version.
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Hi everyone! Today our trip is to the United States and in the middle of our trip we mysteriously transported ourselves to the Iron Age in Ireland, and being there, under the shadow of the Five Sacred Trees, we will discover the music of John Williams with a great performance by Bassoonist Judith LeClair join with the London Symphony will teach us the origin of Celtic mythology.
Today we will discover a great work written by the composer John Williams called "The Five Sacred Trees", this story begins with a sublime story, a solemn introduction that the bassoon develops throughout the first movement called "Eó Mugna", the bassoon solo in the middle and low register tells us in a mysterious and extensive song how the leafiest and important tree of these five sacred trees is born and grows, little by little it tells us how this small seed grows and becomes a great oak "the tree of wisdom", the bass clarinet is incorporated into the narrative as the basis for the bassoon melody and little by little the string orchestra appears with a small melody, a kind of leitmotif that will accompany this movement from beginning to end, being played by all the sections of the orchestra, the bassoon ends the movement with a beautiful and expressive cadence gradually disappearing.
The composer John Williams wrote about this movement "Eó Mugna", the great oak, whose roots extend to the Well of Connia in the "other world", watches over the source of the River Shannon and the source of wisdom, the well is probably the town of Mugna and the Sacred Well. "
Suddenly we hear "Tortan", the second movement of this concert, it begins with the main violin in an agitated rhythm, it tells us about this second tree, the magic tree, a place where witches gather and in a dancing rhythm it continues in a duo the violin and the bassoon in the company of the percussion, the bassoon virtuously develops this theme above the other small accompaniments that are developing, the mystical theme appears in a Leitmotif that accompanies throughout the work, it is also present in this movement, with a totally virtuous ending for the bassoon, this short and rhythmic movement ends, the composer tells us about this movement "Tortan is a tree that has been associated with witches and, as a result, the violin appears, sawn as it is Combined with the music of the bassoon, the bodhan Irish drum helps ".
After the chaos the third tree appears "Eó Rossa", the harp mysteriously appears with a simple and calm melody, from a very deep pianissimo the bassoon is reborn in the company of the harp in a very beautiful song, the bassoon tells us of this tree with the power of destruction and rebirth, the theme is a long song that at the end of its exposition, the harp and flutes replicate the theme of the bassoon. For me, this is the most expressive movement of the concert, the most beautiful singing of the bassoon together with the mysterious accompaniment of the harp slowly dies until the end.
Mr. Williams tells us about this movement "The Eó Rossa tree" is a yew, and although the yew is often referred to as a symbol of death and destruction, the Ross tree is often the subject of great enthusiasm in literature, it is known as "the good of a mother", "Diadem of the angels" Hence the lyrical character of this movement, in which the bassoon enchants and is accompanied by the harp "- John Williams.
The fourth movement "Craeb Uising", is ash, it begins with a sound of the strings in staccato in conjunction with the bassoon simulating a snapping of leaves that break and a ghost fight in place, the bassoon virtuously in this short movement represents the chaos and frenetic atmosphere of the place, the orchestra only accompanies the bassoon, with many effects and in the end, it ends in an effect of ashes in the air. John Williams mentions of this movement as "Craeb Uising is an ash and has been described by Robert Graves as a source of conflict, a ghostly battle"
We arrive at the last tree "Dathi", here the flute together with the clarinet and the oboe enter the scene with a mysterious melody in pianissimo, the bassoon is quickly incorporated into this conversation, this music has been represented by the composer as "A muse" invites the reflection of the previous trees, a calm melody and the bassoon as the principal narrator in its timid and nostalgic song with a beautiful cadence that gives rise to a song with a small variation in the first theme, transporting us together with the flute to another place in space and time, the bassoon continues to the end with a series of beautiful little cadences until the end of the concert.
Coming to a conclusion, it is an extremely virtuous and demanding concerto for the bassoon, with a majestic, virtuous and fully expressive performance by the bassoonist Judith LeClaire, this concerto is without a doubt amazing work written in the representative style of the music of the maestro Williams, using the Leitmotif in the concert as a resource present throughout the concert.
This masterpiece was written especially for the bassoonist Judith LeClaire in 1995, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, this concert consists of five movements and each one represents a tree from ancient Celtic mythology.
John Williams
The work of this great composer is so extensive that on this occasion I will make a brief review about the work of Mr. Williams, He was born in New York in 1932, he is considered one of the most prolific composers of soundtracks in the history of cinema. He has worked with film director Steven Spielberg since 1974 and he has composed the music for almost all of his films, he has won five times Oscar award, as well as four Golden Globes, seven BAFTAs, and 23 Grammy Awards; His work on the Star Wars soundtrack was selected by the American Film Institute as the greatest musical work in American cinema in 2020.
Judith LeClaire
Today I am fortunate to speak briefly about this great bassoon interpreter with an incomparable musical talent, recognized worldwide, The bassoonist Judith LeClaire was born in Delaware (United States), she began her studies of the bassoon when she had 11 years old with the professor K David Van Hoesen, at the age of 15 she began her professional career, interpreting the W. A. Mozart Concertante Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra, in 1979 she was named the first bassoon in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and in the San Diego Opera and in 1981 she was named as the first bassoon in the New York Philharmonic, until now she is Principal Bassoon in New York Philarmonic. She is also a professor at the Juilliard Academy, apart from her orchestral career, she is also an active chamber music performer and teaches numerous masterclasses every year.
Without a doubt, the bassoonist Judith LeClaire is a pride for all bassoonists from all American continent and the world.
Thank you very much for joining me on this musical trip, full of mythology and musical virtuosity!
See you next week in Venezuela! 
Jonaira Rosero
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