Monk I & Monk II
武僧（ㄧ）＆ 武僧（二）

Monk I (2014)
For Flute, Bb clarinet (bass clarinet), cello, and piano

Winner of Earplay Donald Aird Composers Competition (2014), Nirf-Norf Call for scores (2015).

Written for Bartok Festival composition course. This piece is about balance, meditation, and the flow of “Qi.”

Inspired by the legendary Chinese martial art, “T’ai Chi,” Monk is a legendary word in every Asian’s Fantasy—people who meditate daily, train very hard, and do martial arts. The most famous of them are from Shaolin Sect. Martial art is not only about fighting but fighting. It’s actually the last thing they would encounter. Monks try to understand the world through meditation, chanting, and giving kindness. Moreover, the most important about martial art is “Balance” and Yin-Yang. 

Yin-Yang could refer to anything opposite. The most common example would be life & death / Light & Dark. As a result, in this piece, I’m taking every passage, structure, and pitch into consideration of the comparison of “Yin-Yang,” and I want to offer the feeling of “Balance.” In the piece, all the players become a single monk to perform the “Tai-Chi” martial art.

Duration: 6

Performance History:

Premiere: 2014 Bartok Festival, Hungary by Alter Ego under the direction of Peter Eotvos.
Second performance: September 23rd, 2014, Jordan Hall, Boston
Third performance: Moderna Conservatory, Italy
Forth Performance: New England Conservatory, Boston
Fifth performance: June 13th, 2015, Taipei Cultural Center, New York, by Mise-En Ensemble
sixth performance: March 14th, 2016, SF, Earplay ensemble
Seventh performance: June 14th, 2016, Knoxville, TN, Nief-Norf Festival

Monk II
For Alto Sax, Accordion, Percussion, and E. Guitar

Conductor: Shiuan Chang
Performers: Vincent Daoud (Sax), Luca Piovesan (Acc), Tom De Cock (Perc), and Maarten Stagier (El. Guitar)

I'm a vegetarian, sadly sometimes I really want to eat meat, and here's my fantasy of the process.

Movement I : Mealtime
Movement II : Devour
Movement III : Esophagus Counterstream
Movement IV : Dissave
Movement V : Purification