Tuesday Night New Music: Finale

Changjin Ha | Welcome to -

Rotem Eylam | INA (2023)

Program note

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INA is here.

Linxi Chen | Chatoyant of Somberness (2023)

Ian Yoo Kim | Fall of a Dynasty (2024)

The East Kingdom
Song of the Wise
The Inner Streets
War
Requiem  - Fall

Program note

The East Kingdom

The traveler’s tale begins! The piece starts with a flute entrance followed by an oboe with the same melody. The melody of the two woodwinds shapes the atmosphere and reminds the traveler where they are. The remaining instruments join the woodwinds to create a grander sound, signaling the discovery of the grand East Kingdom. Finally, after a long journey, the traveler makes it to the East Kingdom.

Song of the Wise

The traveler enters the kingdom, when suddenly, a wise old man approaches the traveler. He starts to sing the tales of the East Kingdom. The strings let out an improvisation-like melody one by one. This section of the piece was inspired by my own grandfather, who used to sing sijo as a hobby (Sijo, an old form of Korean poetry, once popular amongst the nobility during the Joseon Dynasty). Once the old man ends his tales, he leads the traveler to the streets of the kingdom.

The Inner Streets

The traveler is surprised by the inner streets of the kingdom. Unlike the outer walls of the kingdom, the streets are full of lively people enjoying their lives. It is here where the traveler is struck with the cultural colors of the Eastern Kingdom. In this section, the strings in pizzicato try to replicate both the rhythmic and melodic nature of the Gayageum. Because there are occasions where the Gayaguem plucks repeated notes at a fast pace, the strings in this section are instructed to use two fingers rather than one finger when doing pizzicato.

War

The Gong hits and the traveler is confused. Suddenly, the people began singing, the animals started dancing, and the sound of the marching soldiers were getting closer. The type of music in this section is called Samul nori (Samul nori, a traditional rhythmic music combined with folk dances). An intense battle between the East Kingdom and the nomadic tribes of the North commences. The traveler is knocked unconscious during the battle.

Requiem-Fall

Waking up, the traveler heads towards the East Kingdom hoping for its survival. But against his hopes, the kingdom had fallen and only rubble remained. The music played here tries to replicate the sound of Jongmyo Jeryeak (Korean ritual music performed at the Jongmyo shrine for the past rulers of the Joseon Dynasty). It is slow paced and showcases a monophonic melody. The traveler, with nowhere to stay, begins his travels elsewhere. The final melody of the piece is played, signaling the ending of the journey.

Ai Jian | Eyre (2024)

Program note

Shakespeare said that love is a madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet.

Mason Ishida | Duet Minuet (2023)

Program note

I wrote this piece as a project for the class composition and tonality in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Frank Sang | Burnt by the Sun (2023)

Program note

I still remember when I was living in the dorm on campus at NEC. When I would wake up in the morning with my bed oriented towards the window, the sunlight coming in was like a sword stabbing through my eyes. It hurt a lot. This piece is a reflection of what my eyeballs were suffering, but translated into musical textures. Just like how one sometimes sees narratives playing out with one’s eyes closed, here we have a procession of fantastical events.

Lemuel Marc | transidiomatic gun-machine for two pianos (2023)

Ian Wiese | Four Short Pieces for Piano (2022)

Inversions
Tremolos Rewrite
Ascending and Descending
Chorale

Program note

Four Short Pieces for Piano is both an homage to and modelled after the 1961 Four Short Pieces by my late studio teacher, John Heiss. I had the idea to follow his pieces after I had taken the time to orchestrate his 1961 and 2014 anthologies for wind quintet as a gift to him. The first movement, "Inversions," is based on inverting the same set of intervals that appear repeatedly (based on a very short improvisation that I did at the piano). It is also the shortest and most compact of the four, clocking in at only six measures. The second, "Tremolo Rewrite," as the title suggests, is a rewritten version of the tremolos concept that I had for the second movement; the first version of this piece was meandering and dull, so I cannibalized it and created this rewrite. The movement utilizes roughly the same pitch collection written as a vertical (the chords that tremolo) and a horizontal (the descending line that emerges from the chords). The third, "Ascending and Descending," mirrors the first piece in the manner of inverting the same intervals over each other, however, in this case, the intervals of a fourth and a fifth are mapped out between the white and black keys of the piano, staying mostly exclusively to one set of keys or the other. The last movement, "Chorale," imitates the chorale that forms the last of the Heiss 1961 pieces.

Shawn Lian | Twelve Illusions (2024)

Changjin Ha | Romance IX (2024)

Song Without Words
Romance IX

Zining Wu | Sarula (2024)

Silver Autumn Morning
Naadam
Sarula's Eyes

Program note

The name of this work, Sarula in Mongolian, is a female name symbolizing a bright future. I chose this title for two reasons. Firstly, this title can be seen as an expression of my social beliefs: "women" represent the colorful spectrum of life, the gentle force of society, and the symbol of endless possibilities. Their future, like a bright light, illuminates the path ahead, filled with hope and potential. Secondly, this work was commissioned by Juchen Wang and was ultimately created. I also hope that Juchen, who is about to graduate, will have a bright future.

This piece is divided into three movements.

     The inspiration for the first movement comes from two lines of poetry by Mongolian poet Bie Yawohulang: "The cracks in the skylight are filled with light, and dawn is imminent." Therefore, traditional Mongolian long tunes were used to compose this movement, expressing a sense of anticipation for dawn. This emotion can be vividly conveyed through the traditional Mongolian long tunes, which often carry profound and distant characteristics, suitable for expressing the waiting and anticipation inherent in the poetry.
     The inspiration for the second movement is drawn from the traditional festival and sports competitions of the Mongolian—Naadam. It's a vibrant and enthusiastic scene. The Shaman drum, as a significant instrument during the Naadam festival, carries the atmosphere of the celebration and the emotions of the ethnic group. Its rhythm resembles the heartbeat of the grassland, igniting people's passion and vitality. The structure of this movement is designed to be rhythmic and compact, reflecting the dynamic energy of the Naadam festival. It aims to immerse the audience in the ambiance of the Naadam festival, allowing them to experience the unique charm and lively spirit of the Mongolian ethnic group.
     The third movement, Sarula's Eyes, carries a profound symbolism and emotion within the music. The title embodies themes of feminine strength, wisdom, and aspirations. In this movement, the use of air-tone and its unique development in tone color creates an atmosphere reminiscent of distant winds, imbued with mystery and depth. The progression of the music, from afar to nearby, symbolizes the gradual recognition and understanding of women's inner strength and wisdom and in the third movement of this piece, may every woman's eyes shine with clarity, infusing their lives and futures with strength and hope, and may they all realize their dreams, showcasing their infinite charm and wisdom.                                      
- Zining Wu

Lingbo Ma | Quickstep (2024)

Program note

This short encore piece, a scherzo-dance in nature, was written for saxophonist Chuze Sun. The piece is developed entirely on the opening 3-note motive and has an upbeat and playful character.

Qingyang Yu | I wish (2024)

Program note

Taking a lyric from pop song, and Chinese folk song, I wish to say thanks to the NEC and my all my fellows and teachers.

Austin Conrad Smith | that being said... (2024)

Claire Stephenson | I dream of you to wake (2024)

Program note

This piece is a setting of the Christina Rossetti poem I dream of you to wake from Monna Innominata.

I dream of you, to wake: would that I might
Dream of you and not wake but slumber on;
Nor find with dreams the dear companion gone,
As, Summer ended, Summer birds take flight.
In happy dreams I hold you full in night.
I blush again who waking look so wan;
Brighter than sunniest day that ever shone,
In happy dreams your smile makes day of night.
Thus only in a dream we are at one,
Thus only in a dream we give and take
The faith that maketh rich who take or give;
If thus to sleep is sweeter than to wake,
To die were surely sweeter than to live,
Though there be nothing new beneath the sun.

Christina Rossetti

Trygve Lebakken | Gradient (2023)

Program note

Gradient (2021) is a piece for percussion quartet that was created in collaboration with the UW - Madison Chamber Percussion Ensemble. The concept of a “gradient” abstractly refers to a “change in” some quantity, typically elevation or height. This piece is unique due to the fact that all of its musical elements are constructed from the title alone. The idea of a “gradient” produces two main motives: a crescendo of consecutive notes and a crescendo of consecutive notes followed by a decrescendo of consecutive notes. Each player, only having a wood block, a metal keyboard instrument, and a drum, is assigned one of the common SATB roles for all their instruments, creating a pitch gradient across the ensemble. As the two motives develop and all players gradually switch from woods to metals to membranes, the piece reveals that its macroscopic elements of structure and narrative exactly reflect the microscopic motives they are built with. Additionally, the idea to have timbre define form in the piece came from Mark Rothko's paintings in which he uses large swaths of a homogeneous color to define form. The haziness of the colors' boundaries and the perceptibility of individual brush strokes in his paintings also inspired how the timbral sections of this piece blend together at the edges with individual crescendi and decrescendi mirroring Rothko's individual brushstrokes that make up his works.