Botanical Studies (2001)

Arundo donax, the Mediterranean cane used for the manufacture of oboe reeds.
Silene noctifora, a distant echo of Oswald's 'Nightshade'.
Mirabilis jalapa, Dalbergia melanoxylon, a glimpse of Oswald's 'Marvel of Peru' amid the African blackwood of the oboe - related to the redwood of the marimba.
Cucurbita, Salix, Leguminosae, the gourd, wicker and seeds of the berimbau and caixixi, originating in Africa by way of Brazil.
Galanthusnivalis, the movement closest to Oswald's original pieces, a recomposition of the lovely 'Snowdrop' for oboe and vibraphone.

This work was composed for Janey Miller and Joby Burgess for performance at the Reid Concert Series, to commemorate the birth of General Reid on 13 February 1721/2.  It received its world premiere at the Reid Concert on 13 February 2001.

The pieces are an oblique tribute to General Reid through the work of fellow Scot, composer and member of the 'Temple of Apollo', James Oswald (b. 1711).  In 1755 Oswald published 'Airs for the Four Seasons', an unusual set of 48 trio sonatas, each bearing the name of a flower relating to one of the seasons.  There are five movements.