Cradle

Year Composed:	2024
Instrumentation:	clarinet, piano
Duration	5 minutes

Program Notes

The theme of Han and Heung - a Korean esthetic based on intense emotional juxtaposition - was proposed by clarinetist and commissioner Cecilia Kang as a unifying element across the works commissioned for her upcoming album. This theme allowed me to explore an unusual narrative, one which - despite its brevity - encompasses a wide range of expressive extremes.

These extremes are present among the various technical aspects of the work, especially those of dynamics and register. Rather than simply contrast these elements in a linear manner, however, I wanted to create a discourse in which the surface material - largely gentle and lyrical, comprised of long stretches of diatonic 'white-key' harmony - masks an underbelly of darker passions. Near the end of the piece, the surface layer begins to disintegrate and spiral like a tapestry unraveling, culminating in a thunderous D major chord that suggests a breakthrough of some kind - although the music ends, abruptly, before any catharsis can be realized.

The title refers to both the idea of a birthplace or origin, as well as the act of rocking a baby (hence the lilting, music box-like rhythms that dominate the piano part.) While composing this work, I reflected upon the experiences of my mother, whose family - ethnically Chinese - was interned in India when she was a child, and whose father subsequently died in the internment camp. While this short piece can never capture the totality of that tragic experience, it is for me a form of musical recognition: of honouring my mother's resilience, and the pain that must have walked hand in hand with the joy of raising a family of her own.

Commissions and Awards

• Commissioned by Cecilia Kang and Louisiana State University.