澤洙/Zezhu (2013)
harp & viola
9 minutes
written for and premiered by Yi-Yun Loei (hp) and Sekyeong Cheon (va)
Water or the waterside consistently evokes a variety of feelings and emotions to me – no matter what they may be at the moment. In addition, whenever I am near water, a melody I wrote in January 2002 frequently recurs to me. At that time, I was on a journey to The glacier near Punta Arenas, a city in southern Chile, when “the music arrived in search of me.” Since it was before I began to study composition formally, the melody and its chord progression are in a rather “pop music” style (in the manner of Kenny G – but I mean no offense: I embrace his music.). In the ten years since, during which time I began my formal studies in composition, I have been afraid to develop the melody further. I did not know how to fit this material into the serious academic style in which I expect my original works (as opposed to arrangements or collaborations) to be written. Last summer, on Herrington Lake near Lexington, KY, the melody returned, revealing its essence and finally allowing me to modify/modernize it: by following the “water” or “natural flow” as described in Taoism. Interpreting “natural flow” as “stream of consciousness,” I decided to approach this piece as a written improvisation.
I titled this piece 澤洙, which is my name in Chinese characters, to show this is a spontaneous melody from within. Like many other names, its exact meaning is not very clear, but the leftmost part in both characters, 氵, signifies water.
9 minutes
written for and premiered by Yi-Yun Loei (hp) and Sekyeong Cheon (va)
Water or the waterside consistently evokes a variety of feelings and emotions to me – no matter what they may be at the moment. In addition, whenever I am near water, a melody I wrote in January 2002 frequently recurs to me. At that time, I was on a journey to The glacier near Punta Arenas, a city in southern Chile, when “the music arrived in search of me.” Since it was before I began to study composition formally, the melody and its chord progression are in a rather “pop music” style (in the manner of Kenny G – but I mean no offense: I embrace his music.). In the ten years since, during which time I began my formal studies in composition, I have been afraid to develop the melody further. I did not know how to fit this material into the serious academic style in which I expect my original works (as opposed to arrangements or collaborations) to be written. Last summer, on Herrington Lake near Lexington, KY, the melody returned, revealing its essence and finally allowing me to modify/modernize it: by following the “water” or “natural flow” as described in Taoism. Interpreting “natural flow” as “stream of consciousness,” I decided to approach this piece as a written improvisation.
I titled this piece 澤洙, which is my name in Chinese characters, to show this is a spontaneous melody from within. Like many other names, its exact meaning is not very clear, but the leftmost part in both characters, 氵, signifies water.