Sweet chestnut
1 sound
Current age: Early Mature
Size at maturity: 30m
Species native to: Southern Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor
Tree identification number: 0HVM
Composer name
Isaac Oliver Short
About the composer:
British composer Isaac Oliver Short is currently in the first year of his undergraduate composition studies at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Gary Carpenter. He has had his music performed on BBC Radio 1, BBC Nottingham & BBC Bristol. He has a specific interest in the visual elements of music and often focuses his composition around piano and electronics, with over ten years-worth of experience with both.
About the tree:
The sweet chestnut is believed to have been introduced by the Romans; they apparently ground the nuts into a flour but we, of course, roast them over an open fire at Christmas. The tree is 'naturalised', has adapted to the UK climate and is now ecologically important across southern England.
About the composition:
The sweet chestnut trees within this project are almost all relatively small to medium sized, close together, and with a lot of deflected light and tall grass affecting the perception of the trees. The pieces are written to both function as individual standalone pieces, and together as a mesh, with two of the smaller quirkier trees acting as more percussive versions of the larger trees. Variations are made based on the size of the stem, leaves, age and their unique autumnal colours.
