fantasmagorie (2023)
piano with a midi-keyboard tuned a quarter-tone lower (8′)
performance
• november 28, 2023, bomi lee, hyeseon kim (pf), version for two performers, busan, south korea
program note
most of our ears, which have degenerated by being tamed to the equal temperament of western music, feel a strange taste when they encounter microtones. there is an effective way to use this, for instance, by initially presenting a familiar harmony to (most of) our ears, and then, as a kind of antithesis, letting the ears hear the microtonal version of the harmony. it is straightforward yet highly effective.
the piece ‘fantasmagorie’ utilizes this as its primary material, and is rooted in traditional fantasia. the title refers to a type of theater that was popular in 19th-century europe. the theater uses magic lanterns to project images onto the wall, which include imaginative shapes like moving skeletons, ghosts, and dreams. the piece does not directly translate these images into music but rather focuses on how elements were handled in fantasmagorie and captures the atmosphere of the theater. the interpretation of these empty fantasies is left to the listeners.