Ton, Tiêt That - Chu-Ky III

Chu Ky III for harp (1977) belongs to a large ensemble of seven pieces for various instrumental combinations. Chu ky means "cycle". According to Hinduism, the universe obeys a cyclic law, going through phases of development, then destruction and decline until a new cycle starts. "Human life, seasons, solar system movements, stars and galaxies... the whole universe evolves in a cyclic form, everything obeys an invisible law, this same law which revives matter of which we, human beings, are part. I believe in this law and l try to express it in the seven Chu ky". The cycle features an ubiquitous note, as a polarity towards which all melodic motives converge: G. This note has a special meaning in the mind of the composer: for a Vietnamese, Hinduism and Buddhism are considered Western philosophies (coming from India, west of Vietnam) and in the Yi King system of correspondences, it is precisely the G note, which corresponds to the west. Symbolizing the pre-existence of spirit before anything else, the G rises imperceptibly from the harp's low register, remains at the centre of the various phases of the cycle - birth, development, destructive chaos, disappearance - and finally vanishes on a high trill which fades away and disappears: music "is lost in the void as through meditation, human spirit fades into cosmic spirit...". Tôn Thât Tiêt dedicated Chu Ky Ill to his wife Tam-Quy.

Laurence Bancaud
Excerpt from the CD booklet "Incarnations structurales"

Recording

1 CD Horizons, H070173, Incarnations structurales
Incarnations structurales - Le Tombeau de Christian Lardé - The Endless Murmuring - Mémoire des sons - Thuy Lâm,... Vô - Chu Ky III
Trio Salzedo:
- Marine Perez (flute)
- Pauline Bartissol (cello)
- Frédérique Cambreling (harp)