Secret of the Garden
(2012)
for Flute, Bass Clarinet, Percussion, Harp, Accordion, Violin, Viola & Cello ( ca. 13 min )
commissioned by New Music Concerts Toronto
funded by Ontario Arts Council
Whispering monologues of the roots in the frozen soil longing for spring, the chubby flesh of the succulent in the touch, groping hand in the air for its way of a climbing vine, spellbinding fragrance from an uncertain corner, and finally the feast of a gorgeous mixture of the colors..... the secret of the garden becomes unlocked when our senses open.
As I got commissioned by the New Music Concerts for this special event of Korean Music festival, an image of a transplanted perennial or a shrub in the garden instantly occurred to me as an emigrated and immigrated composer.
The resemblance of their adapting process in a new soil and the metaphoric share between composition and gardening are based on the starting point of this piece.