works » orchestral
Relapse
for symphonic orchestra
3(2nd dbl. Picc., 3rd dbl. A.f.), 2+E.h., 3, 2+C.b.; 4,3,3,1; Timp.+3; Hp.; 1(Pno./Cel.); Str.
double winds version available
Year Composed: 2016
Duration: 0:09:30
Premiere: 11/10/2017; Minnesota Composer Institute, Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä, conductor; Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Additional Performances: Berkeley Symphony (Joseph Young, conductor); Cabrillo Festival Orchestra (Cristian Măcelaru, conductor); St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (Stephanie Childress, conductor), Yale Philharmonia (Ryan Tani, conductor), USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra (Donald Crockett, conductor); The Harker School (Jaco Wong, conductor)
Program Notes:
In 2012, a series of lapses in psyche confronted me with the two halves of my Korean-American identity, both of which—at the time—felt alien to me. Today, I am educating myself on the collective origins of Asian America and strive for a deeper understanding of my Korean ancestry.
The initial melody of Relapse is derived from the minor pentatonic scale, the major counterpart of which makes up the building blocks of the most famous Korean folk song, “Arirang,” inscribed—for its preservation—on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Although pleasant to the ears, this tune is an anthem of abandonment and tremendous lament, highlighted by drawing out the original dance-like 3/4 meter over a more stately and solemn quasi-4/4 meter. Although the central idea of Relapse, the melody makes only one incomplete and wildly-interrupted iteration following a series of rhythmic shifts within a rigid tempo, illustrating the grief behind the text, and the wave of doubts that for years would constantly disrupt my sense of belonging.
“My dear—who discarded me here—cannot walk ten li* before their feet burn.”
– translated verse from “Arirang,” Korean folk song, Anonymous
* Chinese unit of measurement,10 li ≈ 2.5 miles
“brusque and fascinating”