Maenangukjuk (梅蘭菊竹)

MORPHOGENESIS November 6 performance program note

Team: Untitled
Members: Kim Hyemin (김혜민), Choi Jisu (최지수)
Title: Maenangukjuk (梅蘭菊竹)

Connection with the performance theme, MORPHOGENESIS
Maenangukjuk (梅蘭菊竹) symbolically expresses traditional Korean sentiments and values through these four plants. In this performance, the plants are viewed as a progression through time and a process of change. The formation and transformation of Korean sensibilities are expressed musically in four themes.

If morphogenesis is the phenomenon in which new structures and patterns form through cell division, differentiation, and movement as an organism develops its form, this performance extends the concepts of formation and change into the passage of time and musical transformation. Sounds that begin with piano and ambience pass through traditional Korean instruments and orchestration into synthesizers and electronic sound. Finally, real-time spatial control transforms them into a new sonic form.

Musical content

1. Plum Blossom — Beginning
The first theme begins with the image of plum blossoms, which bloom first in early spring while snow and cold still remain. Piano and ambient sound express free, tranquil nature before the formation of a nation or society, opening the performance in a still atmosphere.

2. Orchid — Formation
The orchid, which spreads its subtle fragrance far even from deep within the mountains, expresses the formation and development of a world. An atmosphere reminiscent of historical dramas set in the Joseon era brings together traditional Korean instruments, piano, and orchestration to convey musically how a culture and a world take shape.

3. Chrysanthemum — Change
Like chrysanthemums blooming despite the cold and frost of late autumn, this theme expresses a movement through turmoil and change toward the present. A synthesizer built in Max/MSP generates sound in real time. Adjusting filters and timbre creates changing electronic sound.

4. Bamboo — Expansion
The final theme draws on bamboo's year-round greenery and upright growth. Building on the synthesizer sound produced in the preceding theme, Max/MSP's quadraphonic system and gyrOSC change the position and spatial character of sound in real time. The performance concludes as sound that began in a single form expands and transforms throughout the space.

Technical content

1. Plum Blossom
Ambient sound is built around Kim Hyemin's Serum pads and Choi Jisu's piano performance.

2. Orchid
Choi Jisu plays the daegeum melody from a prerecorded backing track on flute, while Kim Hyemin provides piano accompaniment. The live performance is combined with the backing track's orchestration to evoke the Joseon era.

3. Chrysanthemum
Choi Jisu plays the Max/MSP synthesizer on an 88-key master keyboard. Kim Hyemin uses the knobs of a 25-key controller to adjust cutoff, filters, and other aspects of timbre in real time. Performance and timbral control occur simultaneously, transforming the electronic sound.

4. Bamboo
The synthesizer sound produced in the third theme is processed through Max/MSP's quadraphonic system. gyrOSC controls the position and movement of sound in real time, concluding the performance with electronic sound whose spatial character continually changes.