Luminous Chroma

Program Note:

Each movement of Luminous Chroma evokes a specific color, building corresponding atmospheres based on gold (Palomino), red (Fiery Rouge), green (Cool Cucumber Green) and blue (Satin Blue). The movements are kept short, as I find the subject matter of pure colors to be very concentrated, and thus wanted to convey my ideas in a “short and sweet” way!

Palomino

Palomino is a color found in many horses, consisting of a radiant golden body. When seeing palomino, I find my mind at peace and simultaneously in wonder of its beauty. This combination of a hazy yet serene setting inspired the music for this movement.

Fiery Rouge

Red is a very classically intense color, and also one of transience. For example, fires spread very quickly, gaining more power with every object they envelop. To contrast the stasis of the first movement, Fiery Rouge provides a chaotic burst of rhythms and chromatic harmonies that constantly keeps the listener guessing about what will happen next.

Cool Cucumber Green

I always found the idiom “cool as a cucumber” to be an interesting one. Apparently, it is one that has been around for centuries, referring to the inside of a cucumber somehow always remaining at a lower temperature than its environment. The idea of unshakeable coolness (literally or metaphorically) is one that permeates through this movement. Despite various twists and turns within the short movement, the soothing nature of the guitar always returns, like a constant beacon of hope.

Satin Blue

A play on the jazz classic Satin Doll, Satin Blue is a fun tune, beginning with a bluesy, improv- like beginning (with audience participation) that becomes more and more frantic towards the end, with a final release in energy to cap off these four short works.

Performance Note (guitar): natural harmonics are marked with a circle o above, while artificial harmonics are marked with diamond heads. Both are marked at the pitch at which they will sound (i.e. as if they were ordinary fingered pitches).

August 10, 2023: Arc and Talon, Ginza Ankh in Tokyo, Japan

August 9, 2023: Arc and Talon, Ginza Ankh