Convivio (2023)
Duration: 12 minutes
Instrumentation: solo violin
Commissioner: UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center
dedicated to Hyeyung Yoon
Premiere
4/23/2023, Hyeyung Yoon, UMass Amherst Bowker Auditorium
Program Notes
Convivio (2023) for solo violin addresses the evolution and diaspora of heritage in two sections, incorporating first notes from the fugue of Bach’s violin sonata No.3 as symbolic and musical material. The first section portrays the process of music being generated from some origins of music: breathing and moving. Next, they transform into various sounds to become the ‘material.’
The material appears in various forms in the second movement, including avant-garde or folk music. Symbolizing other possible descendants of the material that have not been embraced by mainstream history, they contest the hierarchy and celebrate their imaginary coexistence – hence the title, Convivio, referring to a feast or living together.
Tonight’s program includes the world premiere of Convivio, interwoven with two movements from Bach’s violin sonata mentioned above. It will start with Bach’s Adagio movement, which would typically serve as the prelude to the fugue. Then, Convivio’s first movement follows as if traveling the inside the performer to join the birth and journey of music, leading to the fugue.
The second part of Convivio interjects Bach’s fugue by bursting after the fugue’s first section, defying the tradition and creating tension. After Bach’s subject metamorphoses into various styles, representing the diaspora: how would the same melody evolve if isolated in different cultures or contexts?
The music returns to the second half of Bach’s fugue. This provocative or rebellious experiment is not just to challenge the tradition but to offer a fresh perspective to live with the legacy in the post-post-modern era we live in. It is also related to my experiences as an Asian composer who primarily works in Western music, navigating to find where I fit in this tradition.
Convivio was commissioned by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center's Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program and is dedicated to violinist Hyeyung Yoon.
Instrumentation: solo violin
Commissioner: UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center
dedicated to Hyeyung Yoon
Premiere
4/23/2023, Hyeyung Yoon, UMass Amherst Bowker Auditorium
Program Notes
Convivio (2023) for solo violin addresses the evolution and diaspora of heritage in two sections, incorporating first notes from the fugue of Bach’s violin sonata No.3 as symbolic and musical material. The first section portrays the process of music being generated from some origins of music: breathing and moving. Next, they transform into various sounds to become the ‘material.’
The material appears in various forms in the second movement, including avant-garde or folk music. Symbolizing other possible descendants of the material that have not been embraced by mainstream history, they contest the hierarchy and celebrate their imaginary coexistence – hence the title, Convivio, referring to a feast or living together.
Tonight’s program includes the world premiere of Convivio, interwoven with two movements from Bach’s violin sonata mentioned above. It will start with Bach’s Adagio movement, which would typically serve as the prelude to the fugue. Then, Convivio’s first movement follows as if traveling the inside the performer to join the birth and journey of music, leading to the fugue.
The second part of Convivio interjects Bach’s fugue by bursting after the fugue’s first section, defying the tradition and creating tension. After Bach’s subject metamorphoses into various styles, representing the diaspora: how would the same melody evolve if isolated in different cultures or contexts?
The music returns to the second half of Bach’s fugue. This provocative or rebellious experiment is not just to challenge the tradition but to offer a fresh perspective to live with the legacy in the post-post-modern era we live in. It is also related to my experiences as an Asian composer who primarily works in Western music, navigating to find where I fit in this tradition.
Convivio was commissioned by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center's Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program and is dedicated to violinist Hyeyung Yoon.