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> continued from Part 1
 My
teacher had repeatedly emphasised to me that it was important
for a composer to submit a piece that I really want to learn
and develop on, not a piece that is composed for the sake of
composing. At that point, I understood what he meant: it is
important to compose from the heart and also it is also important
for me to love my own composition before I submit it. Nevertheless,
I submitted "Fly", a piece composed in three days
for woodwind quintet. The piece was accepted as a sketch but
I was not at all happy about it, because I knew I composed it
for the sake of composing it and that was not a satisfying process.
When I arrived at Manila, I met up again with Dr Jonas Baes,
who was my mentor for the Composers Lab. He asked me to compose
a brand new piece, and surprisingly, I felt very happy about
it. Once again, I was being excited about composing a new piece
even though I would have to do it in two days, so that the performers
enough time to rehearse it.
During my first lesson with Dr Baes, he told me about the music
of an Asian composer who based some of his compositions on the
concept of Chinese calligraphy. He asked me to think about a
word that I like, and make some short fragments or sketches
basing on that word by the next morning.
A few hours earlier, I had been staring outside of the window
in Dr Baes' office while my friend Joyce sweeping her fingers
across a honky-tonk piano in the office, trying to notate a
tune that had haunted her for quite sometime. It was then that
the word "Kokoro" came into my mind. "Kokoro",
which means "Heart", is the title of a famous piece
of literature by Japanese writer Natsume Soseki. I decided that
would be the word.
 And
while it was not a requirement to compose a new piece apart
from what we had submitted, Dr Baes requested this of us because
he knew that this would help us to develop further not just
our composition technique but also the aesthetic process.
Dr Baes also suggested that I should write a duet instead of
a full quintet work, and I was slightly disappointed about his
suggestion because I thought, the more instruments I used the
more exciting and colourful my music could be, which later proved
me wrong.
I tried to "negotiate" for more instruments, convinced
that only two instruments would not give me enough space to
develop the sound and tone colour that I wanted to achieve,
but Dr Baes said that even with only two instruments it is possible
to create more than two simple tone colours - there are a lot
of possibilities. Knowing that I like to be challenged, he told
me that it would be a greater challenge to achieve what I wanted
with just two rather than more, and I accepted - a Leo will
always stay a Leo!
I did not regret the decision one bit. We decided on an interesting
combination of flute and F horn, not a common combination for
duet because of their highly distinctive sound quality.
On the second day of the Composers Lab, I showed Dr Baes the
nine fragments of "Kokoro" that I had composed. Then
he explained concepts of movement and presence, and also guided
Joyce on the concept of interlocking rhythms. With these new
concepts we locked ourselves away from the world for one and
a half day during the weekend to concentrate solely on our new
compositions. Without any exaggeration, we did not even leave
the hotel room for meals! We survived on bread and a one-time
delivery by a kind-hearted committee member from the workshop,
but nevertheless, we were enjoying the process!
 Besides
composing and rehearsing with musicians, all the participants
also attended two very informative lectures conducted by Dr
Baes and Dr Ramon Santos respectively. We also toured the ethnomusicology
department where a lot of traditional musical instruments were
being protected and displayed. Through these activities, we
got to know more about the development of contemporary art music
and the current affairs that concerned the music scene of the
Philippines.
One of the most important experiences I gained through this
workshop was sharing and communicating with the musicians directly
about my thoughts and emotions when I was composing "Kokoro".
I had a very interesting and fun experience working with Raymond
Sarreal (flautist) and Mahler Villanueva (horn player) during
the rehearsals. I remember seeing Mahler sitting outside the
rehearsal room and staring at the score of "Kokoro"
blankly before the rehearsal began. I was quite worried and
wondered if I had written things that were highly unpractical
for the Horn. I told him stories to help him to get a better
picture of my music, and in return he pointed out to me certain
notations that might not function well in practice with the
horn. Raymond, Mahler, and I eventually worked together tightly
and discussed ways to make "Kokoro" more practical
for both instruments. It was a great pleasure to work with these
two well-trained and highly professional musicians.
 The
bond between participants and also the organising committee
(comprising highly talented young composers) of the Composers
Lab grew strong over the eight-day programme. We even collaborated
in writing a fun and impromptu piano piece for which Dr. Baes
shared his talent by contributing a bar of music. I was selected
to play this outrageous piece at the end of the rehearsal on
the day before the concert. We had a great laugh at this short
piece that combined the genius of composers from around Asia.
To me this is priceless!
At the end of all the hard works, the Lab yielded the following
programme:
(i) Abdominal Pain (for Oboe Solo) by Gatot Danar Sulistiyanto
(ii) Soliter (for Clarinet in Bb Solo) by Gatot Danar Sulistiyanto
(iii) For Flute Solo by Motohide Taguchi
(iv) Kokoro (for Flute and Horn in F) by Chong Huey Ching
(v) Shadow of fear (for Woodwind Quartet) by Joyce Tan Cheng
Ai
(vi) Play (for Woodwind Quintet) by Teo Sin Yee
(vii) Shades of Rough (for Woodwind Quintet) by Jonathan Crehan
(viii) Fragment (for Woodwind Quintet) by William Harsono
(ix) Bakit Hindi (for Woodwind Quintet) by Jahanna Aurea van
Gestel
Besides premiering these new compositions the concert also
featured a few works by our hosts as well as Schoenberg and
Satie. As it was still school holidays the audience turn out
was limited, but it was an enthusiastic and sincere audience
who had a great time.
To conclude, I would like to express my gratitude to all the
faculty and committee members at University Philippines who
worked so hard to make this event meaningful and beneficial
to us. I learned a lot from everyone who was involved, to all
of them, Salamat! May the bonds of our friendship continue to
grow!
by Chong Huey Ching
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15 Dec 09 |
