Suibokuga (2016)
Audio
Winner of a 2017 BMI Student Composer Award
Instrumentation: flute (doubling piccolo and alto flute), clarinet in A, viola, percussion (1 player)
Duration: ca. 12'
First performed: November 29th, 2016 at IU, conducted by the composer
I. Old Pond (古池)
II. A Flower (花)
III. Cuckoo (ホトトギス)
IV. A Landscape (山水)
Program Note
Suibokuga is a 15th-century East Asian style of monochromatic painting. Black ink is used exclusively to create very sparse landscapes and still life paintings, with much of the canvas left entirely blank. Painters that worked in this style often attempted to capture the simple beauty of nature, and portray the peacefulness and majesty of well-known locations in China and Japan. The titles of the movements come from four different Japanese haiku.
