Sanjo Gayageum Long Poems

Unaccompanied Sanjo Gayageum (Korean plucked string), 10m

My third piece composed for gayageum performer Baek Seung-Hee was specifically designed to be challenging to the performer.  The First movement requires delicate intonation control of strings which are “bent” upward from their open pitches; while the second requires a masterful control of phrasing and dynamics over a complicated melodic theme.  Compared to my earlier “Sanjo Gayageum Poems,” the “Long Poems” extend the metaphor of poetic form by presenting a series of “verses” which all have the same structure even as the melodic content changes.