Draft:Peter Lawson (composer)

Peter Lawson (born March 9, 1951, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) is an English composer, pianist, arranger and teacher.

He is often confused with the English pianist Peter Lawson (born 1950, Manchester).

Career
Peter Lawson studied composition and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (having previously counted Gustav Holst among its students), where he later became a teacher.

An amateur botanist, he is more particularly interested in the fifty species of wild orchids observable to date in Great Britain and Ireland (to which are added an extinct species) and has undertaken since 1981 to describe them musically through compositions often entitled "Song of the...", followed by the English name of the species, for various vocal or instrumental formations.

In this "orchid cycle", let's quote the piano concerto Song of the Bee Orchid (1995/2015), the string quartet The Grand Design Quartet: Song of the Common Spotted Orchid (2004), Song of the Autumn Ladies Tresses Orchid for piano (2015), Symphony of the Early Marsh Orchid (2017), or the piano sonata A Portrait of the Monkey Orchid (2018, orchestrated as a symphonic poem).

Peter Lawson is also an arranger of works from the traditional repertoire (including Christmas carols) and other composers (including Gustav Holst).

Orchid cycle
(the numbering adopted below is that mentioned on the back of the scores, in the order of their publication – the year indicated is that of composition, sometimes of revision, not following this order – by Goodmusic Publishing: see external link)


 * 1) 1981: Song of the Red Helleborine for viola and piano
 * 2) 1982 (April): Song of the Military Orchid for five flutes
 * 3) 1983 (February-December): Song of the Slender-Lipped Helleborine for violin and guitar
 * 4) 1982: Song of the Musk Orchid for oboe and piano
 * 5) 1982 (December): Song of the Birds-Nest Orchid for piano
 * 6) 1983: Song of the Frog Orchid for trombone and piano
 * 7) 1983 (January-February): Song of the Twayblade Orchid for oboe, oboe d'amore and English horn
 * 8) 1986: a) Song of the Fragrant Orchid for soprano, clarinet and piano; b) Song of the Marsh Fragrant Orchid for soprano, violin and piano (another version of 8a) (December 1985-January 1986)
 * 9) 1986: Song of the Fen Orchid for piano (revised 2013)
 * 10) 1986: Song of the Late Spider Orchid for two pianos
 * 11) 1986: Song of the Green-Winged Orchid for flute and piano
 * 12) 1987: Song of the Irish Lady's Tresses Orchid for flute, oboe, viola and piano
 * 13) 1987: Song of the Violet Helleborine for piano
 * 14) 1987: Song of the Broad Helleborine for organ + a) Song of the Young's Helleborine for violin and piano (2015 arrangement of No. 3 Song of the Slender-Lipped Helleborine and said Song of the Broad Helleborine)
 * 15) 1988 (February-March): Song of the Coralroot Orchid for mezzo-soprano (or tenor) and piano (revised September 2012)
 * 16) 1990 (January): Song of the Pyramid Orchid for harp (revised October 2015)
 * 17) 1990: Song of the Dark Red Helleborine for piano
 * 18) 1990: Song of the Creeping Lady's Tresses for violin and piano (revised 2015)
 * 19) 1992: Song of the Bog Orchid for flute (doubled with bass flute), oboe (doubled with English horn), clarinet (doubled with bass clarinet) and trumpet (revised 2013)
 * 20) 1995: Concerto for piano and orchestra Song of the Bee Orchid (1st movement subtitled Ophrys apifera & var. chlorantha, 2nd movement subtitled semi-peloric form & var. trollii (Wasp Orchid) and 3rd movement subtitled subsp. jurana, subsp. bicolor & O. apifera) (revised 2015)
 * 21) 1998 (January): Song of the Southern Marsh Orchid for violin, cello and piano
 * 22) 2004: Song of the Lesser Twayblade for recorder, harp and string orchestra (or recorder and piano)
 * 23) 1998: Song of the Early Spider Orchid for piano four hands (revised 2015)
 * 24) 1990: Song of the Burnt-Tip Orchid for oboe and piano (orchestrated in 2015 as Concertino for oboe and orchestra, under the same title)
 * 25) 2004: String Quartet The Grand Design Quartet: Song of the Common Spotted Orchid (1st movement subtitled Dactylorhiza fuchsii, 2nd movement subtitled subsp. hebridensis, 3rd movement subtitled subsp. okellyi — arranged for string orchestra in 2014 under the title Burlesque in the Burren — and 4th movement subtitled var. rhodochila)
 * 26) 2004: Song of the Northern Marsh Orchid for clarinet and piano (orchestrated in 2022 as Concertino for clarinet, under the same title)
 * 27) 2005: Song of the Dune Helleborine for recorder and piano
 * 28) 2007: Song of the Dense-Flowered Orchid for flute, bass clarinet and piano
 * 29) 2012 (September): Song of the Lizard Orchid for two pianos with eight hands
 * 30) 2013 (April-September): Song of the Small White Orchid for various recorders (played by a single musician) and string quartet (+ July 2017 version for recorders and piano)
 * 31) 2015 (October): Concertino for organ and orchestra Song of the Early Purple Orchid
 * 32) 2015 (November): Song of the Autumn Ladies Tresses Orchid for piano
 * 33) 2017: Symphony of the Early Marsh Orchid for orchestra (1st movement subtitled Dactylhoriza incarnata, subsp. incarnata, var. alba & subsp. pulchella, 2nd movement subtitled subsp. cruenta, 3rd movement subtitled subsp. ochroleuca and 4th movement subtitled coccinea)
 * 34) 2016 (November): Song of the Small Tongue Orchid for bassoon and piano
 * 35) 2017: Song of the Marsh Helleborine for horn and piano
 * 36) 2017: Song of the Heath Spotted Orchid for trumpet and piano
 * 37) 2017: Song of the Broad-Leaved Marsh Orchid for tuba and piano
 * 38) 2017 (January-February): Song of the White Helleborine for cello and piano
 * 39) 2017 (February-March): Song of the Fly Orchid for double bass and piano
 * 40) 2017 (March): Song of the Green-Flowered Helleborine for various percussion (played by a single musician)
 * 41) 2017 (April): Sonatina of the Sword-Leaved Helleborine for alto saxophone and piano
 * 42) 2017 (April-June): Saxophone Quartet of the Lady and Man Orchids
 * 43) 2017 (September): Song of the Lesser Butterfly Orchid for sopranino recorder (or picccolo) and piano (orchestrated as concertino for sopranino recorder or piccolo titled Concertino of the Lesser Butterfly Orchid)
 * 44) 2017 (August-October): Sinfonietta of the Lapp Orchid for orchestra
 * 45) 2017 (November-December): Song of the Ghost Orchid for choir and piano (or organ)
 * 46) 2018 (March): Song of the Lady's Slipper Orchid for piano (+ version for orchestra with optional narrator titled The Lady's Slipper Orchid)
 * 47) 2018 (April-May): Sonata for flute and piano A Portrait of the Greater Butterfly Orchid (orchestrated as Concerto for flute under the same title)
 * 48) 2018 (June-July): Piano Sonata A Portrait of the Monkey Orchid (orchestrated as symphonic poem titled The Monkey Orchid, with optional narrator)
 * 49) 2022 (May-June): Song of the Summer Lady's Tresses Orchid, nonet for wind quintet, violin, viola, cello and double bass (a "mysterious orchid" considered extinct in Britain)
 * 50) 2022 (July): Song of the Greater Tongue Orchid for piano quintet
 * 51) 2023 (January) : The Giant Orchid for string orchestra

Other compositions (selection)

 * 1981: A Bed of Hay – Seven Carols for Christmas, for choir and orchestra (or piano) (2019 revision)
 * 1990: Nessie, opera for children (libretto by the composer) in two acts, for soloists, choirs and orchestra (or piano)
 * 2012: Jubilee Clips, a Celebration of British Music, for orchestra (for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II)
 * 2016: Variations on Happy Birthday to You, for orchestra
 * 2019: Fantasia on Twelve Days of Christmas, for choirs and orchestra
 * 2021: Wedding Rhapsody – Hodsock Priory, for piano
 * 2023: Overture: This Sceptred Isle, for orchestra

Bibliography / Links

 * 1989: David Lang, A Guide to the Wild Orchids of Great Britain and Ireland, 2nd edition, Oxford Paperbacks, 243 p.
 * 2009: Anne & Simon Harrap, Orchids of Britain and Ireland: A Field and Site Guide, 2nd edition, A&C Black, 480 p.
 * 2010: (french) P. Pitois, Les orchidées au cinéma et en musique, Bull. SFO-LA, 12-15 (Orchids in film and music)
 * 2014: (french) P. Pitois, Quelques représentations d'orchidées par Émile Gallé et en musique, Bull. SFO-LA, 67-69 (Some representations of orchids by Émile Gallé and in music)
 * 2023: (french) P. Pitois, Les Orchidées de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande en musique, ou Le Cycle des orchidées, Bull. SFO-LA, 15-20 (The Orchids of Great Britain and Ireland in music, or The Cycle of the Orchids)

Other external links
(this text is a translation from the French article on Wikipedia – see sources: some, including civil status and the list of compositions, provided by the composer himself to the creator)
 * WorldCat ; Discogs
 * Peter Lawson by Goodmusic Publishing

Category:1951 births Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:English classical composers Category:20th-century English composers Category:21st-century English composers Category:British music arrangers Category:British pianists Category:Male classical pianists Category:Music education Category:20th-century British botanists Category:21st-century British botanists