Instrumentation: Fl, Cl, Vln, Vc, Pf, Perc

Duration: 6 minutes

Program Note:

In this modern age, there’s no doubt that the prosperity is getting better and better. People become materialistic, in order to have a better life. However, things become more complicated and people get more pressure. They can’t accept the lost of their sweet memories which is short, and when it’s gone, it’s no longer back to your side. As a result, conflicts occur and people tried to trap themselves in the freeze of time. However, no matter what happen, the time is still going on.

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“A Night Without Voices” actually represents a person in a city, whose appearance looks happy and sweet, but at the meantime, when he tries to communicate with himself, he found that he was suffered, feel pressed or afraid of the life in the city.

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The piece begins with “Music Box” theme which represents the sweet memory, than along with it is the “Darkness” theme. In this part, the “Music Box” theme is covered by the “Darkness” theme. Just likes in the reality, when people can’t get out from their tension, they just trap themselves in the “darkness” since there’s always a sweet memory and hope inside of his mind.

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In the middle part, the person traps himself in the freeze of time. He wishes that the time could stop for a while so that he could release tension, or escape from the reality.

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However, time will never stop. In the last part, along with the “Darkness”, the music ends with the “Music Box” theme, which represents the person finally realises that he couldn’t stop the time, but he always have the sweet memory in his mind although it’s very short. 

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Awards:

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Malaysian Young Composer Award Winner, Malaysia, 2009 

Goethe South East Asian Young Composer Award’s 1st runner up, Malaysia, 2009 

Brian M. Israel Prize 2014 Honorable Mention, United States, 2014

Finalist for The League of Composers/ISCM Composers’ Competition, United States, 2014

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