Seung-Won Oh – In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry (2005)

Before she began composing In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry, Seung-Won Oh immersed herself in Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet. What captivated her was the way the four novels are bound together, their characters weaving in and out across the cycle. “That feels very close to my own recent work,” she reflects. “Each piece has its own integrity, yet when motifs return — a chord, a figure, sometimes even an entire passage — they create a circular motion, a deepening of resonance. This is the essence of both my Spiri Trilogy and Echoes of a Silent Cry. The chords that close Spiri III: Sacred Ritual reappear in my piece for the New European Ensemble. Encountering Ali Smith’s writing was a revelation: she does in words what I strive for in music. Her novels carry many layers, and she infuses emotion into the very way words take shape on the page. That layering, that constant shifting of feeling, is something I recognize in my own work. There is, I believe, a profound kinship in our artistic approaches, even though we move in different realms.”

It was the season of spring that drew her in, though not in its brightness alone. “Smith’s novel begins with dark skies, with the death of the protagonist’s dear friend. That resonated with a personal loss of my own. In a strange and moving way, all of it came together in this commission. Yet what touches me most is how the books always arrive at hope — the way spring itself summons new life out of death. This is embodied in the text I chose: the story of a young girl who, by tradition, is compelled to dance herself to death in a ritual — the same myth that underlies Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. But in Smith’s retelling, the girl defies the tradition. She resists. And that resistance is an act of courage.”

Thus spring becomes a season of defiance and renewal: the rising of life from death, and the uprising of a brave soul against a destiny that demands her silence.

Seung Won Oh – In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry (2005)

Seung-Won Oh heeft Seasonal Quartet van Ali Smith gelezen voor ze aan In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry begon. Het viel haar op hoezeer de boeken onderling verbonden zijn. De hoofdpesonen komen in elk van de vier boeken terug. ‘Net als bij mijn recente werk, zegt ze. ‘De verschillende composities staan ieder op zich, maar als elementen steeds terugkomen in een soort cirkelbeweging krijgt de muziek extra diepte. Herhaling speelt daar een rol in, van akkoorden en noten, soms zelfs een langer fragment, die in een ander stuk terecht komen. Dat is ook wat er gebeurt in Spiri Trilogy en Echoes of a Silent Cry. Akkoorden aan het einde van Spiri III: Sacred Ritual spelen een rol in het stuk voor New European Ensemble. Het was fantastisch om het werk van Ali Smith tegen te komen. In haar boeken past ze iets toe wat ik in mijn muziek doe. Bovendien bestaan haar werken uit meerdere lagen en drukt ze emoties uit met de manier waarop woorden visueel op de pagina’s staan. Ook de gelaagdheid en afwisseling van de emoties die zij in haar boeken verwerkt, zie ik terug in veel van mijn eigen muziek. Er voel een sterke verwantschap tussen onze benadering, ook al werken we in verschillende disciplines.’

De lente als jaargetijde sprak Seung-Won Oh aan, maar dan vooral de duistere aspecten ervan. ‘Het boek begint met donkere luchten, met de dood van een goede vriend van de hoofdpersoon. Dat resoneerde met een persoonlijk verlies dat ik heb meegemaakt. Alles kwam op een bijzondere manier samen in deze opdracht. Wat me verder aanspreekt is dat de boeken hoopvol eindigen, zoals de lente vanuit de dood nieuw leven kweekt. Dat wordt verbeeld in het tekstfragment dat ik gekozen heb. Een jong meisje moet zich volgens de traditie in een ritueel dood dansen, het verhaal waar ook Rite of Spring van Stravinsky op gebaseerd is. Bij Ali Smith komt het meisje in opstand tegen die traditie. Dat vergt moed.’ De lente wordt daarmee een hoopvol jaargetijde. De wederopstanding van het leven, en de opstand van een moedige persoon tegen een traditie die haar dood wil.

L’article In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

L’article Spiri I: Stained Ritual, Premiere by Royal Conservatory Orchestra est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

https://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/concert/klaus-makela-conducts-schumann

https://www.musikverein.at/konzert/?id=000535df

https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/de/programm/royal-concertgebouw-orchestra-julian-rachlin-klaus-makela/21266

https://shorturl.at/KfWiw

Concertgebouw Orchestra

Klaus Mäkelä, condutor

27 March 2025

Spiri III: Sacred Ritual -Program note

“Spiri III: Sacred Ritual” is the final installment of the Spiri trilogy, a series of orchestral works composed between 2023 and 2025. While each piece in the trilogy stands independently, they are deeply interconnected through a shared harmonic language and evolving thematic material. Across the trilogy, this harmonic development unfolds in stages, suggestive of quality of progression, and culminating in the profound and ritualistic nature of Spiri III.

The title Spiri derives from the Latin root spir, meaning “breath,” evoking the omnipresent energy that animates existence. This concept resonates across cultures: ki (Korean), chi (Chinese), qi (Japanese), prana (Indian), anima (Latin), ruh (Islamic), and spirit (Christianity). The trilogy is inspired by the cyclical and eternal nature of the universe, where beginnings and endings dissolve into one another. It contemplates the insignificance of human existence within this vast cosmic framework while affirming its resonance within nature’s order.

Structurally, Spiri III: Sacred Ritual serves as both the culmination and expansion of its predecessors, Spiri I: Stained Ritual and Spiri II: Sheltered Ritual. A defining element of the trilogy is the bell call, which first appears as a dissonant in Spiri III, decaying resonance—an overlay of several consonant chords in tension. This motif recurs throughout the work in various guises: as an interruption, an arrival, a reflection, a reminder, and ultimately, an affirmation. Gradually, the friction between these harmonies seeks equilibrium, evolving into a space of consonant coexistence.

The final bell-call manifests as an extended coda, where the trilogy’s underlying chaconne emerges fully—its purest and most harmonious form.

The physical phenomenon of decay—evident in the resonating bell as well as in the impermanence of life—is embedded at multiple levels within the composition. 

Unlike the arch form used in Spiri I and Spiri II, Spiri III undergoes a structural transformation: the music is transported to an entirely new idea: triggered by the returning bell call and opened by the initial brass chorale in vast contemplation, reflection and meditation, and followed by the interplay of memories and dreams before culminating in the final bell coda, where the chaconne is laid bare.

Through its large-scale recurrence of themes and structures, Spiri III not only affirms its internal unity but also solidifies its place as the trilogy’s concluding chapter. It encapsulates the essence of Spiri—a meditation on cyclicity, universal energy, decay, eternal nature of the universe, and the ephemeral yet interconnected quality of human existence.

In its interplay between myopic themes and macro architectural design, Spiri III: Sacred Ritual musically attempts to capture a truly personal version of the universe.   

L’article Spiri III: Sacred Ritual est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

This commission is a significant recognition of Seung-Won Oh’s music world and her imaginative pursuit of this unique combination of sounds in Umbra. This one-of-a-kind double concerto aims to explore the blend of timbres and aesthetics, expand existing stylistic notions associated with these instruments, and create a close, intimate relationship between the soloists and the string orchestra.

Premiere:

• November 16, 2024 – Salle Gaveau, Paris, France
• November 23, 2024 – Hong Kong City Hall, Hong Kong

L’article Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung Commissions Seung-Won Oh for Umbra est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

Step into the Grote Kerk and enter another universe with ‘Alley of Light’, an art installation of 2000 handmade lights. The changing intensity creates a dynamic space. Serge Schoemaker combines his architectural background with this heavenly play of light.

Alley of Light

Orkést De Ereprijs conducted by Leon Frantzen

Location: Grote Kerk Apeldoorn

17 March 2024
Time: 8:00 PM and 9:20 PM
For more information, see https://royallightfestival.nl/.

Program

Vanessa Lann – Distant Trinity
Corrie van Binsbergen – Sometimes I start with the air
Seung-Won Oh – Modular 4 for Fourteen
Calliope Tsoupaki – Thin Air

L’article “Modular 4 for Fourteen” meets “Alley of Light” est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

L’article Spiri III: Sacred Ritual for orchestra est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

2024

30 Jan 17u String Quartet Biënnale Amsterdam, Netherlands

20 feb 20.15u Sint Aegtenkapel, Amersfoort, NL

25 feb ECI Cultuur Fabriek, Roermond, NL

2 mrt Halmstad, Sweden

3 mrt Ronneby, Sweden

6 mrt Landskrona, Sweden

8 mrt Karshamn, Sweden

20 mrt Liepzig, Germany

L’article “Elegy in Me” for Ragazze Quartet est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.

The players in Modular compositions are the co-architect of composition: the parts provide a clear direction of musical goal but minimal information for music to operate. The players fill in and add flesh to grow and ripen to the full flavor of the final product.

Reflecting the strong identity of Orkést De Ereprijs, Modular 4 for Fourteen is composed for three groups in the orchestra: two similar-sounding quintets (group 1 and group 2) emulates personal and musical take on the relationship between object and its shadow. Group 3 remains steadfast in drone-like ostinato forming a distant connection to the other groups. By the end of time travel, group 1 and group 2 swap their positions, hence raising the question of what are the ultimate object and true shadow. Are they absolute or relative?

L’article Orkést De Ereprijs premieres “Modular 4 for Fourteen” est apparu en premier sur Seung-Won Oh - Composer.