• piccolo flute, flute 1, flute 2; oboe 1, oboe 2 and cor anglais; piccolo clarinet, clarinet 1, 2, 3, alto, bass and contrabass clarinet; bassoon 1, bassoon 2 and contrabassoon; soprano sax, alto sax 1 and 2, tenor sax 1 and 2, baritone sax; horn 1, 2, 3 and 4; cornet 1 and 2, trumpet 1 (doubling ad lib. on piccolo trumpet), 2 and 3; tenor trombone 1 and 2, bass trombone; euphonium 1 and 2, tuba 1 and 2; timpani, percussion 1, 2 and 3, xylophone and vibraphone; harp.

• Duration: 18'
• Composed in 2013
• Parts: To rent the parts, please email <rc@robertcasteels.com>
• Downloadable scores for inspection:
  Fireflies_and_Crickets.pdf

This composition is inspired by the aural and visual polyphony created by crickets and fireflies respectively. The music mirrors the ephemeral lives of these insects from the development of one tiny cell to the frenetic swarm and finally to vanishing in thin air. This circle of life and death may well mirror the ontological human condition.

Notes on crickets and fireflies

Whilst composing A Day in the Life of a Garden in 2003, I recorded the sound of crickets in Singapore’s Labrador Park. This park has the unique feature of housing a population of two species of cricket. Crickets are omnivore insects feeding on organic materials. Contrary to popular belief, crickets do not chirp by rubbing their legs together. The chirping sound is

created by running the top of one wing which has teeth-like ridges against the bottom of the other wing which has sharp edges like a comb. At the same time, the cricket opens its wings that serve as a resonator. The hotter the ambient temperature, the higher the rate at which the cricket chirps. In July 2007, I travelled to Malaysia to witness the magic of arboreal synchronous flashing of thousands of fireflies along the tidal river banks of Sedili Kechil. Called Kelip-kelip in Bahasa Malaysia, these fireflies are the Pteroptyx tener, also known as the congregating or synchronous firefly. The genus Pteroptyx was erected by Ernest Olivier in 1902. The synchronous firefly spends the first three months of its life in the larvae stage and less than a week as an adult. During which time, it will congregates in groups to mate on the mangrovelined river banks. The female is larger than the male. The mating, however, is a competitive process as the ratio of females is lower. During mating, a chemical process called bioluminescence, where cold light with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies is produced in the firefly’s lower abdomen, takes place. The male fireflies synchronize their flashes with other males during nocturnal flight, courtship and copulation while females respond with a different flash synchronicity. Unfortunately, three main forms of pollution threaten the survival of the fireflies whose habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate: the clearing of riverbank vegetation to establish shrimp farms; chemical dumping in the river by oil palm plantations; and strong spotlights of factories and farms.