The premiere of the harp and cello version of my composition “Cotton Butterfly” with the wonderful Paula Kiffner on cello!
I originally wrote Cotton Butterfly for harp and double-bass, which is a great combination, but I’m thrilled with how the piece sounds with harp and cello.
Cotton Butterfly tells a story – starting with the dark, enclosed chrysalis as the larva slowly changes. Eventually the music comes to a climax as the new butterfly emerges. It sits for awhile, as blood pumps to its wings, until it finally takes flight, more and more confidently, before flying off into the distance…
The video is from our performance on April 4, 2014, as part of a concert celebrating the earth and featuring local (Victoria, Canada) composers. Each piece on the program was paired with a local conservation group – the performance of Cotton Butterfly was dedicated to the Victoria Natural History Society.
If you’re reading this before April 26th, 2014, and you’re in Victoria you’ll have a chance to hear this live at a concert at the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. See this blog post for details.
If you’re interested in the sheet music for Cotton Butterfly please email me at info@joshlayne.com
Thanks for watching!
Josh