Blue Bird

Blue Bird, for piano solo, was written for the SeJong Cultural Society for their annual young performers competition.  The melodic material of the work is based on a Korean folk song by the same name where the melody consists of only 3 notes! Yet, within those 3 notes is a powerful sentiment that commemorates a beloved General of the people, General Bong-Jun Jeon.  General Jeon led an unsuccessful uprising against corrupt leaders who enriched themselves off the backs of the peasant class.  General Jeon’s mission was to rid the land of corruption and all influence of Western countries and Japan. He led many successful revolts but was ultimately defeated at the the Battle of Ugeumchi where he was captured.  This setting attempts to capture the intrinsic mourning and reverence inherent in the original tune giving much space for the melody to be heard, whether that be without any surrounding accompaniment to textures where the melody is surrounded by colorful harmonies constructed entirely from notes of the melody itself.  It builds to a virtuosic climax, recalling the strife of battle, but ultimately the tune comes back in full force, accompanied by heavy, blocked chords that sound akin to a royal procession.  Legend states that this tune was sung as a lullaby by the widows of Jeon’s army to their babies.  The piece, mindful of this context, ends as it began with a lamenting, yet haunting presentation of the tune plucked in the highest reaches of the instrument.