program note for “The Strangers”

I composed "the Strangers" loosely based upon "Birds' Song," a folk song from Korea's south-west. My melody applies 2 modes adopted from Shamanic ritual, gutgeori jangdan, a slow 12/8 rhythm, and Sinawi, an improvisational genre. The traditional lyrics describe the Natural beauty of a forest inhabited by all varieties of colorful birds, which I extended as an allegory for a human scenario populated by all races. Every bird has unique characteristics, leading each to regard the others, and themselves, as strangers. 

In "the Stranger," my music reflects the sounds and characteristics of the birds in Nature. A first, by using the individual instruments of the ensemble, without lyrics, the music slowly introduce the different personalities. The beat then progresses into  a quicker, more cheerful 4-beat rhythm that breaks away from traditional patterns by combining Sinawi, a more structured form of improv, with jazz which allows for a freer form of improv.

"The Stranger" premièred in Seoul in 2016, performed with the improv ensemble PAN project, with musicians from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. In 2018, the piece was performed by 3 Korean instrumentalists at the Korean Cultural festival in Boston. In May 2019, for the concert Either/Or in NYC, I arranged the piece for a mixed ensemble of Korean and Western instruments, including electric guitar, clarinet, gayageum, and saenghwang.