JungAh Lee

Unconscious Dance (2023)

무의식의 춤

Composed for Gayageum Ensemble Odrey

3 Modified Gayageums (GMG Gayageum – Araetgeum, Ssanghyongeum, Araewitgeum)
Daegeum
Piri
Haegeum
Percussion

* List of Percussion : Donghaean Janggu, Jing, Tambourine

Duration : c. 8’50”

Premiered July 8, 2023, Yeongdeungpo Art Hall.

The piece is based on Pablo Picasso’s oil painting The Three Dancers (1925), which tells the tragic story of two of his closest friends and shows the influence of the Surrealist school of thought that the artist was immersed in at the time. Whereas Picasso projected his chaotic unconscious through illogical and bold compositions and shapes, for this piece, I wanted to create a primal atmosphere with instruments that each have their own distinct timbre. I paid particular attention to the uniqueness of the GMG Gayageum and how to compose the sound while maximizing the uniqueness of each instrument, especially the tambourine, a traditional percussion instrument from Picasso’s native Spain.