Performance extract of “The Pan Poems” by poet and artist Julia Desch accompanied by soundscape & cello composition by Emily Burridge. This video is an extract of first performance at Shaftesbury Fringe festival July 2025. Pan mourns his loss “Lamentoso”.

I love this production. Julia approached me having heard me perform and said “I have a poem I would like you to accompany with your cello”.

On inviting Julia to my recording facility I listened to the twenty-five minute poem and realised it is a seminal work and needs to be aired.

Between May and July 2025 I gathered recordings from the environment of my locality in Dorset at all times of day and night and set about creating a soundscape whereby the listener is taken on a sound adventure through the landscape and into the woods before the poem commences. 

The poem is twenty -five minutes long and the cello score accompanies and responds to the words.

Seven poems titled with musical expressions.

The performance program is titled ” An evening of Lyric” and the “Pan Poems” are accompanied by two more poems by Julia “Lime trees at Cranbourne”, one preceding the Pan Poems and one to complete “The Evening of Lyric” which I preceded and finished the program with a soundscape.

This program celebrates our natural environment and appeals to the audiences sensibilities as to how we as individuals respond to the current signs from mother nature as our natural environment suffers in the wake of “progress” . This program is a wake up call.

To perform the cello score  I am using looping pedals to multi track and create harmonies and rhythms as demonstrated in this video.

Some stanzas just have a solo call and response with the words.

We look forward to sharing this production widely both as a live performance and as a recorded production.

Notes on images included in the video. Art made from sheep wool is created by Julia.

For further information on her work please visit https://www.juliadesch.com

For correspondence and enquiries as regards booking this performance please write to admin(at)emilyburridge.com