Firefly Frenzy: A Song History
"Firefly Frenzy" appears in Ellen Pratt's Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 8, a book published by Ellen Pratt, where it is scored for four dulcimers, every part in DGD tuning.[1] The listing presents the volume as a blend of traditional and contemporary material and names this piece among its "non-traditional favorites".[1] The book's sample page for the third dulcimer part prints Ellen S. Pratt's name beneath the title, with a 2022 copyright notice in her name.[1] Pratt's own contents page for the volume lists the piece in 6/8 time and marks other entries as traditional or as the work of M.E. Williams, but gives no composer for "Firefly Frenzy", so the sources consulted here do not state outright that she composed it.[2] Her DulcimerDownloads biography says she began composing for the dulcimer around 2004 and turned to ensemble writing after joining a dulcimer orchestra in northeastern Connecticut.[3] The sources consulted here list no recording of the piece.[1][2]
Eishōsai Chōki, Woman and Child Catching Fireflies, woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, ca. 1795. Shown for its fireflies; it has no connection to the tune.
Neither the listing nor Pratt's store page explains the title.[1][2] Separately, and with no connection to the tune implied, the National Park Service reports that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to 19 firefly species, among them Photinus carolinus, one of the few that can bring their flashing into step: each cycle is a run of five to eight flashes and then an eight-second spell of darkness, and the males settle into a shared rhythm as their numbers build.[4] The park says this mating season lasts roughly two to three weeks a year, with peaks recorded since 1993 falling between the third week of May and the third week of June, and that researchers do not yet fully understand why the insects synchronize.[4] None of the sources consulted here, the park's page included, connects the tune or its title to these fireflies.[1][2][4]
Sources
- Ellen Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 8".
- Ellen S. Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements for Mountain Dulcimer Volume 8".
- DulcimerDownloads: "Ellen Pratt".
- National Park Service: "Synchronous Fireflies".
- Image: Eishōsai Chōki, Woman and Child Catching Fireflies, woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, ca. 1795. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.