Nong Hyun Reflected (2011)
Seung-Ah Oh
amplified string quartet
Commission: Festival November Music, for the Quatuor Bozzini
amplified string quartet
Commission: Festival November Music, for the Quatuor Bozzini
Nong Hyun is the term for a Korean traditional string-playing technique that involves various left hand techniques after the initial string pluck by the right hand. I was interested in how these left-hand techniques could be translated and performed on western string instruments; this became a substantial musical idea in this particular composition. Nong Hyun Reflected is inspired by the idea of four independent lines co-existing in time, echoing the way one’s daily life is surrounded by all types of recognizable and dismissable sounds. Each part is written independently except for a few structural points, until they all come together at the end of the piece. The piece is also an attempt at a freely and loosely composed soundscape (music in the air).