drift, crisscross, trance for bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, trombone and euphonium (2020)

Instrumentation:

Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone, Trombone, Euphonium

Duration: ca. 8’ 30”

About the piece:

drift, crisscross, trance was commissioned by K口U to expand the ensemble’s repertoire, having such a unique instrumentation. Since both the ensemble musicians and I are from Singapore, we thought it would be an interesting idea to create a piece that draws inspiration from the three larger racial groups that make up Singapore’s society: Chinese, Malay and Indian. I took a small musical idea from the traditional musics of these cultures, and interpreted them in my own way, resulting in these three movements. The movements are all connected by the idea of rhythm and motion, and each present a different manifestation of that idea.

I:
drift is inspired by the drone of the tambura commonly found in the vocal music tradition of Indian classical music, and its rhythmic cycles. This movement uses multiphonics as the main musical material; although seemingly static, there are subtle changes in the colour and complexity of the sound that evolves over time.

II:
crisscross is inspired by the interlocking drumming patterns (kopak) found in the Malay dance zapin. This movement explores the percussive aspect of winds and focuses very much on a constant 16th-note rhythm, which is sporadically interrupted, by silence, interwoven and layering of rhythms, as well as the juxtaposition of various sounds and textures.

III:
trance is inspired by the idea of heterophony that is present in Chinese music. Conventionally, heterophony refers to the simultaneous variations on a single line, but in this movement I abstracted this idea and used it to explore variations on different timbres or sound qualities. The two main contrasting timbres happen at the extremes of the registers, while the long sweeping lines fill the space between these two sounds. From another perspective, the entire movement is a huge variation on the note ‘A’, whether appearing in various registers or forms.

Commissioned by K口U for Aural Bytes: A Musical Omakase

Recording: 

December 2020, Singapore

Performed by:

K口U
Daniel Yiau (bass clarinet), Michellina Chan (baritone saxophone), Don Kow (trombone), Vincent Tan (euphonium)