Sum (2016)
Duration: 10 minutes
Instrumentation: 3(3=pic)3(3=eh)3(3=bcl)3(3=cbn)/4331/tmp, 3 pc, hp, cel/strings
Commissioner: Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra
Performance History
8/10/2016, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra w/ Shi-Yeon Sung (director), Suwon, S.Korea
Program Notes
Sum, in Korean, means 'breath' or 'life' and is also from 'Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)' by French philosopher Descartes. The piece is inspired by the match between Google DeepMind AlphaGo and Korean Go master Lee Sedol in March 2016, which the artificial intelligence won with score 4:1. This event catalyzed many people fearfully wonder if the AI is going to take over every single part of our lives including arts and music. And the orchestra asked me to write a piece using algorithmic composition.
To embrace the general concern about the relationship between music and science, in addition to using algorithm and calculators, I recalled three different concepts I learned in calculus and science classes – parabola, the uncertainty principle, and titration. Parabola, the first movement includes a wide variety of parabolic segments with respect to pitch vs. time, rhythmic activity vs. time, etc. The second movement, Nebula refers electron cloud, and is basically a sound mass moving around slowly. The detail was carved using basic probability distribution table.
Titrata and Punctata, attacca, are about my memory in chemistry labs, especially acid-base titration: one can imagine a chemist neutralizing an acid solution with a base, using Phenolphthalein as an indicator. As the base is added, the colorless acid solution becomes pink which quickly fades. With more base, the fading gets slower and eventually the solution turns into pink permanently. To embody the dramatic change into pink, a strong character of irregular lattice is introduced, in lieu of the water drops in the previous movement. It is also closely related to Nebula, in that they share the compositional device (the probability distribution) and the pitch material.
Instrumentation: 3(3=pic)3(3=eh)3(3=bcl)3(3=cbn)/4331/tmp, 3 pc, hp, cel/strings
Commissioner: Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra
Performance History
8/10/2016, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra w/ Shi-Yeon Sung (director), Suwon, S.Korea
Program Notes
Sum, in Korean, means 'breath' or 'life' and is also from 'Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am)' by French philosopher Descartes. The piece is inspired by the match between Google DeepMind AlphaGo and Korean Go master Lee Sedol in March 2016, which the artificial intelligence won with score 4:1. This event catalyzed many people fearfully wonder if the AI is going to take over every single part of our lives including arts and music. And the orchestra asked me to write a piece using algorithmic composition.
To embrace the general concern about the relationship between music and science, in addition to using algorithm and calculators, I recalled three different concepts I learned in calculus and science classes – parabola, the uncertainty principle, and titration. Parabola, the first movement includes a wide variety of parabolic segments with respect to pitch vs. time, rhythmic activity vs. time, etc. The second movement, Nebula refers electron cloud, and is basically a sound mass moving around slowly. The detail was carved using basic probability distribution table.
Titrata and Punctata, attacca, are about my memory in chemistry labs, especially acid-base titration: one can imagine a chemist neutralizing an acid solution with a base, using Phenolphthalein as an indicator. As the base is added, the colorless acid solution becomes pink which quickly fades. With more base, the fading gets slower and eventually the solution turns into pink permanently. To embody the dramatic change into pink, a strong character of irregular lattice is introduced, in lieu of the water drops in the previous movement. It is also closely related to Nebula, in that they share the compositional device (the probability distribution) and the pitch material.