Symphony of the Hawai‘i Forests: Reflections on Ka Wai Ke Kumu Ola (2023) Full orchestraBut Beautiful (2018)
for koto and cello
duration: 13 minutes
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Performers:
Score Excerpt: PDF
Perusal/Purchase: contact me
Program Notes
But Beautiful is the title of a popular song from the '40s written by composer Jimmy Van Heusen and lyricist Johnny Burke that has quickly become a jazz standard. I borrowed the title because of the many dichotomies contained in the song (funny or sad; quiet or mad; good or bad - rather trite to read, but effective when sung withe Van Heusen's longing melody). This composition is completely different, but explores multitudes of dichotomies: the duality inherent in any duo; the duality between the two instruments from vastly different traditions and the challenges of balancing those two worlds; the vastly different sounds of the two instruments; even on the cello alone, exploring natural harmonics vs. ordinary sounds. There is no direct homage to the original song whatsoever, and borrowing titles is not something I have done previously, but I thought that it would be an interesting twist to name a work written for a Japanese instrument after an old American song. The piece was made possible by the Barlow Endowment General Commission.