Quartet

There will be no future! 無未來㗎啦! (2025) (5’)

Clarinet Quartet (Eb, Bb, Eb alto, Bb bass)

Commission by K622 Clarinet Ensemble
Performers Bb Clarinet: Kitty Chan
Eb/Bb Clarinet: Tiffany Lee
Alto/Bb Clarinet: Winnie Lui
Bass Clarinet: Eric Man

Premiere of this piece:
Sheung Wan Civic Centre Lecture Hall (5/F), Hong Kong
2025-04-12, 3:00 p.m.

通常一個人瘋了，並不會說自己瘋了；一個人醉了，只會說「我無醉！」。那若一個人對自己、別人、世界說：「無未來架啦！」…… 未來是一個尚未出現的空間與時間，如果這個有無限可能的空間也失去了…… 沒有人能決定你的未來，除了你自己。樂曲為開放曲式作品，整首歌曲加入了劇場元素，樂手需要在台上/場地走動。單簧管樂手以另類方式組裝和吹奏樂器，不會出現常見單簧管的聲音。樂曲以粵語發音「無未來㗎啦」為中心伸延，當中穿插各種奇特的音色。整首樂曲講求音色的漸變，到最後樂曲會變得瘋狂，表達出那種連想像未來也不可能的絕望及情緒。

A maniac will rarely admit to being mad. A drunk person might say, “I haven’t been drinking!” But what does it mean when someone says, “There will be no future”? The future is a space and time that has not yet occurred. If this limitless space were to vanish… No one can determine your future except yourself. The work was composed as an open-form piece with theatrical elements. The performers are required to act on stage and reconstruct their instruments in unusual ways to create interesting sounds. The main motif of this piece is the pronunciation of a Cantonese sentence: “無[mou4]未[mei6]來[loi4]㗎[ga3]啦[la1]” (There will be no future). The piece develops from this idea, exploring various fantastic timbres. Ultimately, the sound becomes chaotic, representing the hopelessness and emotions that arise from an inability to imagine the future.

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The Secret of My Family (2023) (8’)

Any 4 (groups of) instruments

Premiere: MIRY Concert Hall, Gent, Belgium, 23-04-2023
Performers: Miel Dejongh (Alto Saxophone)(Blue)
Bram Du Moulin (Cornet)(Green)
Ward Selis (Trumpet)(Red)
Robin Wydaeghe (Oboe)(Yellow)

This piece composed based on the pronunciation of five Chinese characters (母瘦雛漸肥) from a poem for the Swallows (燕詩) by BAI Ju-yi with variations. My sister and I changed a little bit the words and made a opposite meaning which is teasing my mum…

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13-Orphans 十三么 (2022) (9-10’)

Percussion Quartet
(1 bass drum, 1 Mahjong set, 1 gambling chips set, 1 suspended cymbal, 1 set of wood blocks, 1 wind chimes)
(The players are preferred to speak Cantonese but not necessary)

Performers: Dallas Kwok, Kevin Leung, Chrissy Wong and myself.

Premiere: Academic Community Hall, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, 27-5-2022

The main ideas of this work are promotion and cultural preservation of Mahjong which is influential in the history of Asian’s entertainment. There are several scenes which represent a fictional game, similar to a musical theatre with acts and stories. Therefore the visual performance is as significant as sound in this work. I used different Mahjong-related objects for producing sound, such as Mahjong tiles and gambling chips. Bass drum and other percussion instruments imitate the Mahjong table and scenes in Cantonese Opera respectively. Instead of describing the sound itself, I notated the actions for producing sound. I hope some of you can recall the memories about Mahjong with new materials and sounds. If you are not familiar with Mahjong, you can also have a brief encounter with the game and enjoy this piece.

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Stay or Get Away? 是走 (2022) (5’)

String Quartet
(2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello)

1st violin: Arthur Tsang
2nd violin: Jovena Ooi
Viola: Vincent Yeung
Cello: Ian Chu

Premiere: Academic Community Hall, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, 27-5-2022

This piece was composed for my friends who will leave or that have already left Hong Kong.

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An Angry Bear (2021) (2’50”)

Mixed Quartet
(Bass clarinet, Tuba, Cello, Piano)

Bass clarinet: Jack LAU
Tuba: Yiu Wing CHAN
Cello: Hei Chit WONG
Piano: Anna TSE

Recorded: Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Apr 2021

When I saw the ‘Bear’ decoration on my desk, I had some ideas: Those instruments can be used for evoking an angry bear. This piece has 3 sections: 1st and 3rd are presenting ‘activated’ angry bear and 2nd is presenting a standoff between bear and human beings.

Illustration: SHIU Yin Man, Natalie (my sister)

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Who is the leader (2021) (7’30”)

Any 4 (groups of) instruments

Premiere: AST916, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, Apr 2021

The idea was inspired by a popular group game same as the title. The special player(s) who will guess the leader stand(s) outside the room first. After the leader is chosen, the special player comes in and guesses. Other players in the room follow the action of the leader. The game ends when the leader is discovered.

There are players and leader in this piece. However, there is no action to follow: We use the instruments and music instead. Sometimes you know who the leader is, and sometimes you do not. Try to listening the music and enjoy the process of sound blending.