River Welcomes the Stream
for L’Histoire Ensemble
Duration: 13:00
Program Notes
Having lived most of my life here in Canada, it was only somewhat recently that I began reconnecting with my heritage, and learned a bit more about my family’s history. My grandfather’s family moved several times in the northern regions of Korea before finally making home in the Heilongjiang (lit. Black Dragon River) province in China. All the tumultuous travelling and the water imagery, as well as finding a greater sense of belonging for my family and (more recently) for myself, served as the inspiration and narrative for River Welcomes the Stream.
The earlier sections of the work draw influence from Korean folk music, and later ones from Chinese folk music. The work opens with a bass solo reminiscent of an ajaeng (a Korean zither instrument), and for most of the piece, moves in rolling triple meters, focused and intense; however, it later winds up in duple-metered sections, radiant and expansive, with violin passages reminiscent of an erhu (a Chinese fiddle instrument).
This piece is dedicated to my grandparents, and to the rest of my familial folks back in China and in Korea.
A special heartfelt thanks to Kathryn Macintosh and the C’mon Festival for giving me my first shot at writing original music in a professional setting, and to the C’mon Ensemble for their premiere of this work.
(2018)
Commissioned by Kathryn Macintosh for the 2018 C'mon Festival.
The C'mon Ensemble:
Clarinet: Robert Spady
Bassoon: Matthew Howatt
Trumpet: Brian Sand
Trombone: Kathryn Macintosh
Percussion: Timothy Borton
Violin: Aiyana Anderson
Double Bass: Janice Quinn
Conductor: Alissa Cheung