the last hawthorn (3'30")

Flute Orchestra

Premiered: May 2025 by The Hartt Flute Choir;

Duncaster, Bloomfield, CT

the last hawthorn is a piece for flute ensemble composed by Domenic Fusco III. The piece is based on an Irish folklore tale that arose from the sparsity of the hawthorn tree. In the tale, hawthorns were seen as mystical plants in many ways. They were associated with blessings and fertility (especially in May), and were frequently used for prayers to the goddess Brigid. However, one major aspect of these trees is that you were never allowed to chop them down. If a hawthorn was standing by itself, it was seen as a meeting-place for fairies, and getting too close would lead to your kidnapping and being placed into a deep slumber. This piece embodies the atmosphere of a lone hawthorn, being both mystical and ethereal, while also tense. These trees bring blessings and ward off evil, but tricky fairies are always lurking inside.