Alvin Leung | Composer

Performance History:
Premiere: Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Net Festival, Dec 18, 2021, performed by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, HKCO Concert Hall with livestream

Program Notes:
Sway and Swirl in the Saha World is a 38-player Chinese ensemble piece. Saha is a Buddhist term that refers to the reality that we are sensing in this time and space (before reaching nirvana). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the composer aimed to write a piece that hopes to encourage people to “take it easy” and face the uncertainty with ease, optimism and positivity.

The music starts with an ambiguous passage with a motif seemingly based on whole-tone scale that is
fulfilled with uncertainty. Then it gradually grows to the second section, in which conflicts and contrasts
of different instruments hope to associate listeners with the worries under the pandemic situation. The piece abruptly enters the third section with a relaxing beat, with different solo passages that add in playfulness to the music, representing the ideal mood and attitude to face the difficulties. The music finally enters a swing section, leading to the grand ending, hoping for the brighter future.