Three Spring Songs, Three Movement Song Cycle
for Soprano, B FLAT Clarinet, Jangu and piano (2004)
PROGRAM NOTE:
I. Spring is coming
II. Spring is the beginning
III. Spring is here is spring here
This is a song cycle about hoping, believing, pleasing and loving of spring. The first movement employs three different pentatonic scales and tonal centers, based on traditional Korean folk tunes. In this work the underlying presence of the folk tunes is subverted by non-traditional means, sliding between tonality and dissonance. Also, rhythm is a fundamental driving force in this work, handled primarily by a traditional Korean drum called the Jangu. The second movement introduces a variety of traditional Korean rhythms by the Jangu. The setting of the text emphasizes its importance, and its meaning: spring is the beginning of all things. The final movement is a lighthearted, fun movement, employing an arbitrary, free sort of compositional technique. The primary text is cyclical in nature: Spring is here. Here is spring. Is spring here? has been transformed into the title: Spring is here is spring. In the middle of this collage of sound, quotes from Schubert’s Frühlingstraum (Winterreise Op. 89) and Chopin’s Impromptu No. 4 appear.
INSTRUMENTATION:
Soprano
Bb Clarinet
Piano
Jangu ( Korean traditional drum)
DURATION: I. ca. 2' 45''
II. ca. 3'45''
III. ca. 1'50''
PERFORMANCES:
I. Spring is coming
Spring is coming!
It has been an arduous winter.
Spring is coming!
The Shivering buds, hiding from the winter,
Are now peeking out through the frost.
They exuberantly welcome the spring
With smiles and open arms.
Spring is coming, Spring is coming!
Everyone is in anticipation of the coming spring.
Spring is coming, Spring is coming!
II. Spring is the beginning
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the creator of dreams,
And the creatures of the glorious God.
Spring, Spring is.
Spring, you have been loved,
By opening the golden path to a greener world,
By gently cracking the ice of the suffocating waters,
Releasing the ponds from winters cold grip.
By giving water to the thirsty,
Giving reason to the blossoming,
Waking those that sleep,
Giving respite to the meek,
Giving hope to the suffering,
And life to the dying.
Spring, you have been loved
Spring, you are special because you are the beginning.
Spring has banished the creeping white,
And has brought the embracing breeze of the goddess of warmth.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the shinning beacon of the future,
An eternal seed of the seasons candlelight.
Spring, Spring is.
III. Spring is here is spring here
Spring is here.
Here is Spring.
Is Spring here?
LINK TO RECORDING:
I. Spring is coming
II. Spring is the beginning
III. Spring is here is spring here
This is a song cycle about hoping, believing, pleasing and loving of spring. The first movement employs three different pentatonic scales and tonal centers, based on traditional Korean folk tunes. In this work the underlying presence of the folk tunes is subverted by non-traditional means, sliding between tonality and dissonance. Also, rhythm is a fundamental driving force in this work, handled primarily by a traditional Korean drum called the Jangu. The second movement introduces a variety of traditional Korean rhythms by the Jangu. The setting of the text emphasizes its importance, and its meaning: spring is the beginning of all things. The final movement is a lighthearted, fun movement, employing an arbitrary, free sort of compositional technique. The primary text is cyclical in nature: Spring is here. Here is spring. Is spring here? has been transformed into the title: Spring is here is spring. In the middle of this collage of sound, quotes from Schubert’s Frühlingstraum (Winterreise Op. 89) and Chopin’s Impromptu No. 4 appear.
INSTRUMENTATION:
Soprano
Bb Clarinet
Piano
Jangu ( Korean traditional drum)
DURATION: I. ca. 2' 45''
II. ca. 3'45''
III. ca. 1'50''
PERFORMANCES:
- Performed on May 1st, 2005 at the Stony Brook University President’s University Undergraduate Arts Festival
- Premiered on April 27th, 2005 at the Stony Brook University Composer’s Concert series
I. Spring is coming
Spring is coming!
It has been an arduous winter.
Spring is coming!
The Shivering buds, hiding from the winter,
Are now peeking out through the frost.
They exuberantly welcome the spring
With smiles and open arms.
Spring is coming, Spring is coming!
Everyone is in anticipation of the coming spring.
Spring is coming, Spring is coming!
II. Spring is the beginning
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the creator of dreams,
And the creatures of the glorious God.
Spring, Spring is.
Spring, you have been loved,
By opening the golden path to a greener world,
By gently cracking the ice of the suffocating waters,
Releasing the ponds from winters cold grip.
By giving water to the thirsty,
Giving reason to the blossoming,
Waking those that sleep,
Giving respite to the meek,
Giving hope to the suffering,
And life to the dying.
Spring, you have been loved
Spring, you are special because you are the beginning.
Spring has banished the creeping white,
And has brought the embracing breeze of the goddess of warmth.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the beginning.
Spring is the shinning beacon of the future,
An eternal seed of the seasons candlelight.
Spring, Spring is.
III. Spring is here is spring here
Spring is here.
Here is Spring.
Is Spring here?
LINK TO RECORDING:
