Atropa belladonna

2023

Duration: 3:30

Grade 2

Composer’s Note:

Atropa belladonna is my first botanically inspired piece of music. As an avid gardener, I am fascinated with the weird world of plants. Commonly known as deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna is famous for its toxicity and prevalence in historic cosmetology and medicine. The botanical name Atropa (unturning one) belladonna (beautiful woman) is paradoxical and I felt the contradiction in the name lent itself well to the concept of this piece. With a name like Belladonna, one might not expect the music performed to sound sinister.