Honeybee (2023)
9 minutes
for wind quintet
Commissioned by the Australasian Double Reed Society of South Australia (ADRSSA)
Premiered by Arcadia Winds on December 8th, 2023 at Tempo Rubato, Melbourne, Australia.
9 minutes
for wind quintet
Commissioned by the Australasian Double Reed Society of South Australia (ADRSSA)
Premiered by Arcadia Winds on December 8th, 2023 at Tempo Rubato, Melbourne, Australia.
Melissa (mélissa, Greek) meaning “honeybee”
…Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
-Carl Bobert
…Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
-Carl Bobert
Honeybees are remarkable creatures. They are a social species, living together in colonies of up to 60,000, with a life span as short as 5 weeks. Of tens of thousands of species of bees, there are only eight species of honeybee. They are rare, unique, hard-working, intelligent, and of huge environmental importance.
The ‘waggle dance’ of the Honeybee is imprinted on the bee from a young age, passed down from elders generations before. Worker bees, who are all female, perform this dance while inside the hive to communicate the precise location of plentiful food and water sources. The dance is a figure-eight movement, during which the dancing bee wiggles its abdomen fervently, moving in the direction of the food source.
My dear friend Melissa was a remarkable woman. She was bright-eyed, effervescent, immensely cheeky, creative and colourful with an off-beat sense of humour and irrepressible optimism. I was drawn to her fearless spirit from the day I met her, as were so many others. She was one who lived and thrived in community with others; her love for people shone through in even her most challenging moments, as did her faith. She was an adventurer, an artist, a poet, a dear friend, and a liver of life.
Honeybee is dedicated to the memory of Melissa Jane Whyte, who passed away aged 41 in October 2022. The music progresses through three stages: Emergence, Dance, and Final Days, and draws from both the lifecycle and activities of the honeybee and the memories I have of my dear friend.
© Anne Cawrse, 2023
The ‘waggle dance’ of the Honeybee is imprinted on the bee from a young age, passed down from elders generations before. Worker bees, who are all female, perform this dance while inside the hive to communicate the precise location of plentiful food and water sources. The dance is a figure-eight movement, during which the dancing bee wiggles its abdomen fervently, moving in the direction of the food source.
My dear friend Melissa was a remarkable woman. She was bright-eyed, effervescent, immensely cheeky, creative and colourful with an off-beat sense of humour and irrepressible optimism. I was drawn to her fearless spirit from the day I met her, as were so many others. She was one who lived and thrived in community with others; her love for people shone through in even her most challenging moments, as did her faith. She was an adventurer, an artist, a poet, a dear friend, and a liver of life.
Honeybee is dedicated to the memory of Melissa Jane Whyte, who passed away aged 41 in October 2022. The music progresses through three stages: Emergence, Dance, and Final Days, and draws from both the lifecycle and activities of the honeybee and the memories I have of my dear friend.
© Anne Cawrse, 2023