Living Composition: Advanced Study, Analysis and New Creation

Abstract

Over a decade ago, I created the term “living composition.” For me, the word “living” means transforming over time in the way nature changes every hour, day, and month, and  through the seasons. The purpose of creating such a “living” composition is to capture the ever-changing beauty in nature that amuses, inspires, and enriches our daily lives. As a composer, I have written a variety of living compositions, the majority of which were co-created through collaborations with Thai classical musicians. In this paper, I discuss the concept of living composition as flexible music in my Eternal Chanting “From somewhere…”  and Ancient Chanting, including the flexible musical elements, notations, interpretations,  instrumentations, and performance results. I also discuss how each living composition  transmutes, through its Western notation, into a new hybrid score that bridges Asian and  Western musical traditions.