A contemporary recorder work blending jazz, electronic music, and Japanese folk-inspired elements. This is one of my most representative works.
This work received Second Prize and the Best Composition Award at Open Recorder Days Amsterdam 2023.
In this piece, I used the DAW Reason as my creative tool. Inspired by odd-meter music, I experimented with an uneven seven-beat rhythmic structure.
In live performance, the piece combines live looping with a pre-programmed track. The recorder sound is also routed into the computer, where effects open up a wider range of timbral possibilities.
Polygatari - 祭り(Matsuri) Monogatari (物語) means “story” in Japanese. Just as monophony evolves into polyphony, I wanted my monogatari to evolve as well.
Matsuri (祭り) means festival.
As the third piece in the Polygatari series, this is probably a festival taking place under a full moon, somewhere below the castle. The people here move with a staggering yet light step; he wears a white amoeba-patterned shirt, he wears a haori, he is restrained, yet free.
And he is very handsome.
Open Recorder Days Amsterdam 2023 Competition
Recorder & Electronic: Hsing-An Lee
Composer: Hsing-An Lee