enthalpy I (2023)
.png)
for solo drumset
This is the first work of my enthalpy series. In chemistry, enthalpy is defined as the total amount of heat in a given system. In a similar sense, each work in this series aims to depict varying degrees of "hotness" and "coldness" which are represented in the musical energy and excitement I evoke.
enthalpy I is an exploration (or rather a deconstruction) of a drumset. I grouped different components of the drumset in the first three movements, before violently combining them together in the fourth movement.
To read the full notes on composition, please click the link below:
Recording:
enthalpy II (2024)
for oboe and two midi keyboards
This work is the second of my enthalpy series - a series of compositions exploring the extremes of very intensive violent music, and very ambient static music. Odd numbered enthalpies are violent outbursts of energy, while even numbered enthalpies such as this work, are calm, meditative and absorbing.
As part of the event Treatise on Treatise, I wrote this with Cardew's Treatise as a visual stimulus. I interpreted the stimulus by deconstructing three distinct elements: the parallel lines, the bolded line, and the circle. Rather than a taleological one-for-one interpretation of the Treatise, I explored and manipulated these elements more freely throughout the work; the visual elements as points of inspiration, rather than actual musical equivalencies.
I interpret the parallel lines as quiet, static streams of sound. The circle to me, is interpreted as a very dense and packed sound, while the bolded line is an intermediary between these two sonic colours. A more sonic approach was adopted, the music flowing as one organic complex with ebbs and flows of predictability and unpredictability.
The work is organised in three sections. first section establishes the main elements - the lines (bolded and not bolded), and the circle. The second section explores a gradual blurring between elements: small swells constantly interrupt a constant stream of pointilistic sounds, eventually merging and blurring together. The third follows a similar process, albeit at a much faster and more intense manner. The music eventually dies down, with small (yet final) reiterations of the main elements.
This work was written for my ensemble, what the FORTE (WTF), for the event Treatise on Treatise. This event was an interdisciplinary collaboration with a visual artist Chan Choy Har, who specialises in contemporary and avant-garde paintings. The grouped reached out to her and other various composers, and alongside this group, explores different reactions and perspectives to Cardew's famous graphic score.
.jpg)
Recording:
enthalpy III (2023 - 2024)
for alto saxophone, midi keyboard and tape
In Chemistry, enthalpy is a measure of the amount of energy in a fixed system. Taking reference from this concept, the pieces in my enthalpy series are a collection of two extremes. Even numbered enthalpies are immensely quiet, introspective, and calm - highly ambient in nature. Odd numbered enthalpies, such as this piece, are chaotic and violent, with extreme bursts of energy and unpredictability dominating the musical landscape: in short, unhinged.
enthalpy III takes on a new compositional approach from my previous works. Instead of thinking of musical structure, or rather musical elements in general in a rigid and methodogical sense, I explored various ways of creating structural and musical fluidity throughout the work.
On one hand, one can see this piece in three distinct sections - the first a convergence in sound between the electronic tape and the two groups of instruments; the second as a co-existence between the two groups; the third a divergence in sound between the electronics, alto saxophone, and keyboard. These sections are made evident through strong textural and sonic contrasts between the instruments and the electronics. On the other, one can see this piece as one constantly evolving and unpredictable block of sound. Within this form, comes both moments of surprise deceit and constant discomfort evoked through the use of harsh extreme sounds, yet moments of recollection and stability through the recurrence of familiar sounds and ideas.
This piece was written as part of the Young Composers Forum organised by the Composers Society of Singapore, and was premiered by the group weird aftertaste as part of the final concert in March 2024.
.jpg)
Recording:
enthalpy IV (2024)
for piano and live signal processing
In Chemistry, enthalpy is a measure of the amount of energy in a fixed system. Taking reference from this concept, the pieces in my enthalpy series are a collection of two extremes. Even numbered enthalpies are immensely quiet, introspective, and calm - highly ambient in nature. Odd numbered enthalpies, such as this piece, are chaotic and violent, with extreme bursts of energy and unpredictability dominating the musical landscape: in short, unhinged.
enthalpy III takes on a new compositional approach from my previous works. Instead of thinking of musical structure, or rather musical elements in general in a rigid and methodogical sense, I explored various ways of creating structural and musical fluidity throughout the work.
On one hand, one can see this piece in three distinct sections - the first a convergence in sound between the electronic tape and the two groups of instruments; the second as a co-existence between the two groups; the third a divergence in sound between the electronics, alto saxophone, and keyboard. These sections are made evident through strong textural and sonic contrasts between the instruments and the electronics. On the other, one can see this piece as one constantly evolving and unpredictable block of sound. Within this form, comes both moments of surprise deceit and constant discomfort evoked through the use of harsh extreme sounds, yet moments of recollection and stability through the recurrence of familiar sounds and ideas.
This piece was written as part of the Young Composers Forum organised by the Composers Society of Singapore, and was premiered by the group weird aftertaste as part of the final concert in March 2024.
.jpg)
Recording:
enthalpy V (2024)
for flute, oboe, bass trombone,
drumset, two keyboards, and tape.
The enthalpy series is one of contrasts. Even numbered enthalpies are often quieter, more introspective and meditative in nature. Odd numbered enthalpies, such as enthalpy V, are often violent and excessive shrieks of noise.
enthalpy V itself is a matter of contrasts - child-like blissfulness against the pain and harshness of human suffering. The former is represented through the use of text fragments from the cartoon series Spongebob Squarepants - which was an integral part of my childhood. The latter is represented through the use of speech from various politicians/dictators inciting conflict.
As a whole, enthalpy V is organised as a string of loose episodes organised in a mirror
structure in two halves. The first three movements are comic in nature. I imagine the instruments as a form of “accompaniment” to the tape, which predominantly drives the form for this section. The next three movements, are much darker and real in nature. Both the text and the music becomes increasingly distorted and likened to a sort of intermediary distorted noise.
There is an opening prelude, and a concluding postlude, which in independent from the overall dramatic narrative, but serves as a linking force from start to finish.
I wrote this work for my ensemble, what the FORTE, for the concert Melomania VII, which is an
annual series of experimental music concerts.
.png)
Recording:
