Score
Bower : for solo sanjo gayageum in F / music by Bruce Crossman ; words by Kate Fagan.
Library shelf no. 787.6/CRO 2 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
Bower: Keobeu Nolae, the latter part meaning "curving song" in Korean, is
inspired by Kate Fagan's poem "Bower" about the curving sonic
beauty of bowerbirds in nature as a type of natural retreat
within East Coast Australian bush touching eternity, away from
the negative in life.
In this sense the structure is a type of parabola curve moving
symmetrically from stillness accruing to frantic bluesy movement
of multiple motifs, before falling back to stillness. Formally,
the structure is viewed as: A B A' B' C [a' b' c] B'' A''.
It's content uses various nonghyeon bending techniques of the
gayageum with string pressing techniques on chords and
appoggiatura notes, arpeggios, and alternating patterns at the
climax, with more distilled sounds flanking this through bellbird
like harmonics woven amidst Korean Buddhist Temple bowl
resonances and Judeo-Christian glossolalia-prayerful chanting-to
suggest the eternal, whilst fragments of the bowerbird poem are
whispered as a type of nesting thread throughout the music.
The music becomes a sonic nest with symbols of spirit amidst
glistening nonghyeon colour changes to suggest the curving song
of nature.
Work Details
Year: 2022
Instrumentation: Sanjo gayageum in F (12-strings), Korean temple bowl (wooden striker), voice (chant)
Duration: 11 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Advanced — Complex rhythmic detail and changing colour nuances
Dedication note: Dedicated to Lee Eonhwa
Commission note: Written for Lee Eonhwa (solo sanjo gayageum) for her doctoral recital at the Korean Music Department, College of Music, Seoul National University
The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc:
Free jazz, Matthew Shipp Trio; Korean gayageum sanjo performance by Yi Jiyoung and Lee Eonhwa; Judeo-Christian glossolalia and Kate Fagan’s poetic ideas on ecology; Japanese Gagaku and Honkyoku.
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