Ritus Sanitatem (2022)
Duration: 17 minutes
Instrumentation: string quartet (2 violins, viola, and cello)
Co-Commissioners: Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, with the support of the Kahng Foundation;
for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in honor of its 2023 centennial with support from the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series Endowment
dedicated to Verona Quartet
Premieres
Verona Quartet (Jonathan Ong, Dorothy Rho, violins; Abigail Rojansky, viola; Jonathan Dormund, cello)
3/3/2023, McCullough Theatre, Austin, TX
3/9/2023, National Museum of Asian Arts of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Movement Titles
I. On Inscribing Talismans
II. On the Mysteries of Stylostixis
III. On Byung-gut
Program Notes
Music has been believed to help maintain and restore mental and physical health at various times and in various cultures. One of the more exemplary instances would be the Korean shamanic healing ritual, Byung-gut. In this practice, a shaman (ordinarily female) dances, recites, chants, and sings, interacting with a small instrumental ensemble. Here, music plays a central role.
Ritus Sanitatem (“rite of healing,” translated from Latin) for string quartet is a journey through several Korean folk-healing traditions in three movements. The first movement is inspired by the inscription of talismans, which I associate with chanting, one of the oldest practices of using music as medicine in diverse cultures, like in ancient Sanskrit chants of Samaveda.
The second movement addresses acupuncture in that it begins with a sharp pain (related to the injection of needles, though one is not supposed to feel any pain if it is done very well) that eventually gives relief and recovery. The concept of healing by hurting can be found in numerous medical methods and traditions, including modern-day vaccination and crucifixes.
Music plays a significant role in the Korean shaman ritual gut. (Byung-gut is one of its many types.) While exuberant rhythm comes to the fore, like in other shaman music, melodic content is also considered essential in the gut. My piece’s finale exhibits these characteristics and a quotation of the gut, interwoven with passages that would sound like tarantella, a psychedelic music and dance genre used to treat tarantism in 15th- to 17th- century Italy.
I hope this 17-minute rite gives the audience a chance to reflect on the role of music as medicine, especially after what the world went through in the last couple of years.
Ritus Sanitatem is co-commissioned by the Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin with the support of the Kahng Foundation; and for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in honor of its 2023 centennial with support from the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series of the National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian). It is dedicated to the Verona Quartet: dear friends Jon, Dorothy, Abby, and JD.
Instrumentation: string quartet (2 violins, viola, and cello)
Co-Commissioners: Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, with the support of the Kahng Foundation;
for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in honor of its 2023 centennial with support from the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series Endowment
dedicated to Verona Quartet
Premieres
Verona Quartet (Jonathan Ong, Dorothy Rho, violins; Abigail Rojansky, viola; Jonathan Dormund, cello)
3/3/2023, McCullough Theatre, Austin, TX
3/9/2023, National Museum of Asian Arts of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
Movement Titles
I. On Inscribing Talismans
II. On the Mysteries of Stylostixis
III. On Byung-gut
Program Notes
Music has been believed to help maintain and restore mental and physical health at various times and in various cultures. One of the more exemplary instances would be the Korean shamanic healing ritual, Byung-gut. In this practice, a shaman (ordinarily female) dances, recites, chants, and sings, interacting with a small instrumental ensemble. Here, music plays a central role.
Ritus Sanitatem (“rite of healing,” translated from Latin) for string quartet is a journey through several Korean folk-healing traditions in three movements. The first movement is inspired by the inscription of talismans, which I associate with chanting, one of the oldest practices of using music as medicine in diverse cultures, like in ancient Sanskrit chants of Samaveda.
The second movement addresses acupuncture in that it begins with a sharp pain (related to the injection of needles, though one is not supposed to feel any pain if it is done very well) that eventually gives relief and recovery. The concept of healing by hurting can be found in numerous medical methods and traditions, including modern-day vaccination and crucifixes.
Music plays a significant role in the Korean shaman ritual gut. (Byung-gut is one of its many types.) While exuberant rhythm comes to the fore, like in other shaman music, melodic content is also considered essential in the gut. My piece’s finale exhibits these characteristics and a quotation of the gut, interwoven with passages that would sound like tarantella, a psychedelic music and dance genre used to treat tarantism in 15th- to 17th- century Italy.
I hope this 17-minute rite gives the audience a chance to reflect on the role of music as medicine, especially after what the world went through in the last couple of years.
Ritus Sanitatem is co-commissioned by the Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin with the support of the Kahng Foundation; and for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in honor of its 2023 centennial with support from the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series of the National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian). It is dedicated to the Verona Quartet: dear friends Jon, Dorothy, Abby, and JD.