I am struck by Chew Choon’s connection to the natural world, and his powerful expressions in the painting of landscapes and of animals.  The beautiful, yet barren landscapes of the Tibetan plateau, inform the creation of this composition. Kumoi Joshi and Hijazkiar scales form the palette of this work; the sound of mountainous wind is soon followed by a chant-like texture accompanied by overtone singing. The chant is then metricised, treated canonically, followed by a crescendo to a climax. Fading away to contemporary major chord clusters, this is my humble attempt at describing the impending ecological disaster due to the melting away of mountainous ice caps, and a beauty that may last for not much longer.

This work is made possible with the support of the National Arts Council and the Enhanced Arts and Culture Resilience Package.

World premiere Voices of Singapore, dir. Chong Wailun, 19 March 2022.