'…all the trees of the world are like brothers and sisters'  (iii.)

for cello and piano

'…all the trees of the world are like brothers and sisters' takes its title and inspiration from the novel The Vegetarian by the South Korean author Han Kang. The novel consists of three linked novellas – each narrated by different person yet all focusing on a woman who progressively wills herself into becoming a tree.

Following the novel’s structure, each movement of this work is considered a separate work that can be played on its own or with all three movements. This score is for the second movement.

The music is very quiet and slow to focus on the limits of sound and silence or the concept in classical Chinese music and thought wherein a skilled listener continues to listen to music past when it has moved into silence.

Also, as in a number of my recent works, in this piece I attempt to write a sort of 'musica provera' – a poor/impoverished music – that reflects on the increasingly unequal distribution of resources and wealth in our world as well as on the beauty inherent in simple and subtle sounds.

All three works in this cycle are dedicated to my wife, the composer/pianist Chen-Hui, and my dear friend and frequent collaborator, Jason Calloway.

Live performance January 16, 2019

Jason Calloway: cello
Chen-Hui Jen: piano

'…all the trees of the world are like brothers and sisters'  (iii) for cello and piano

Jacob David Sudol uses new technologies to create intimate compositions that explore enigmatic phenomena, the inner nature of how we perceive sound, and novel connections between Eastern and Western musical cultures.  His music has been performed well over one and fifty hundred times by many prestigious ensembles and performers across the USA, Europe, and Asia.  In addition, Dr. Sudol is currently writing a chapter on his music for the upcoming Oxford University Press Handbook of Spectral Music.  
	
Dr. Sudol is currently an Associate Professor of Music Technology and Composition at Florida International University and was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Fellowship to teach and research in Taiwan.