Book Description

Kabus-kabus Memori means ‘Clouds of Memories’. It is a collection of short and easy pieces, in this project for solo piano initiated by Dr Tham Kent Horng. Dr Tham is researching and recording some of my early piano works. This collection is commissioned by Dr Tham. It consists of 6 solo piano pieces which are: 1.Sebuah Pantun, 2. Meditasi Lagu Dalam Mimpi, 3. A Tango Waltz, 4. Pantun – Rawak, 5. Meditasi Dalam Mimpi V, 6. Kabus Pantun. Clouds of Memories are collection of pieces from the past, some are revisited work and some are used previous materials as based for new one. Time here is past memories, clouds that shrouded the memories, some are clear and some are misty. This collection is a shred of this memory. As human, time is as our one’s own moment and past memories preserved but no memories of the future exist except imagined or predicted one. I would like to extend my expression of gratitude to Dr Tham for the commissioning, performing and recording the works and many thanks to his team, Dr Yen Lin Goh as the co-researcher and pianist. I hope the project would continue to benefit the younger generations of musicians and composers and to preserved and documented some musical memories too. Kabus-kabus Memori is dedicated to Tham Kent Horng. 1. Sebuah Pantun is in Malay, means a traditional rhyme, commonly 2 or 4 lines long. The piece is derived from 5 series of notes and 7 cycles of numbers which weave around a hidden structure which is based around 4 small proportions, intentionally related to the 4-line pantun. These elements are distributed throughout the piece. The piece is originally written in October 2002, London for Thalia Myers Spectrum ABRSM project. 2. Meditasi Lagu Dalam Mimpi means 'Meditation Song in a Dream'. The piece is a revisited piece that was written in 2007. It is based on gamelan numbering and pentatonic scale. The piece was the second section of Warna Yang Bernada and the different between the two is the time. In 2007, the time is structured and almost fixed while in this piece, the time is less structured, accommodating flexibility and therefore time is not pre-determined. The piece is composed for Bobby Chen for a performance at Dewan Filharmonik, Petronas KLCC. Warna Yang Bernada was first performed by Bobby with London Sinfonietta in 2007. The piece is dedicated to Bobby. The duration of the piece is between 3-4 minutes depending on the performer interpretation. It is re-visited in Feb 2018, Shah Alam and Subang Jaya. 3. A Tango Waltz is conceived a few years back and was revised for this collection. This is a personal piece because for my private interest in tango music and also tango dance. Waltz also something that I have preference towards. It is quite conventional piece with flavors indicated in the title. The piece is dedicated to Kent and Yen Lin. Jan – Feb 2018. 4. Pantun – Rawak is using previous materials then make it random, hence the title Rawak means random. It is free but with indication of length of rests and the closeness of the notes. It is dedicated to Kent. It is completed in Mac 2018, Subang Jaya. 5. Meditasi Dalam Mimpi V is revisited materials and re-worked for solo piano. It is part of my songs collection. It is melodious and sorrow originally conceived in 2008. It is dedicated to Kent. Jan – Mac 2018, Shah Alam and Subang Jaya. 6. Kabus Pantun is derived from my Pantun cycle is written using gamelan numberings and numbers were transformed into sounds and notes. Pantun is Malay traditional poem that can be in 2, 4, 6 (etc.) phrases. In four phrase pantun I am using, there are 4 short but played continuously. The sections are like the shadow (pembayang) and the meaning in pantun. The Pantun series passing through passing through London, Venice, Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Reykjavik and Boston - the piece is dedicated to Kent and his research project. This version is written between Shah Alam, Subang Feb 4, 2018.