Chrysos - BSN/PN

Chrysos
for bassoon and piano
by Jenni Brandon (b. 1977) - American composer

Chrysos for bassoon and piano by Jenni Brandon explores the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly which lives and migrates across North America.  The work, in one movement, has five sections that tell the story of this cycle. 

The Butterfly:  The work begins with the adult butterflies taking flight and moving from flowers and milkweed as they begin their long migration flight. Along the way the butterflies lay eggs on milkweed plants, often travelling in a dreamy cloud of butterflies. 

Egg: The section begins with a mysterious bassoon solo as the keeper of the secret of the milkweed nursery of newly laid eggs. There is ecstatic joy in this section as the egg begins to change and prepares to hatch two to five days later. 

Caterpillar (Larva) – Molting and Eating Milkweed: Now the caterpillar molts as it eats milkweed, heard in the wiggling gestures of the bassoon. Within this section are “instar” stages, the in-between stages of molting. Listen for variations of the themes representing the instar stages and the cheerfulness of the piano as the caterpillar eats and grows. 

The Chrysalis (Pupa) – Green and Gold: In the Chrysalis phase, the caterpillar encases itself in a cocoon. The word Chrysalis originates from the Greek word “Chrysos” meaning gold. The “stigma” or the gold band found on the cocoon is a carotenoid pigment that reflects light to produce the gold color. In this section the piano plays a lullaby to the Chrysalis while it sleeps as the sun catches the sparkle of gold, preparing for the metamorphosis that will change it from a caterpillar into a butterfly. 

Emerge: In this final section the butterfly breaks free from its cocoon and begins to move its delicate wings. With joy it finally flies into the sky, and the cycle of the Monarch Butterfly’s life begins again.  

Chrysos was commissioned by Dr. Albie Micklich at Arizona State University and premiered with Andrew Campbell on piano on February 9, 2024 in Katzin Concert Hall at ASU. It was a joy to write this work for them to premiere and to share the beauty of the Monarch Butterly through this work.