SSO rhapSSOdy Sep-Dec 2023

MCI (P) 008/09/2023 Newsletter of the SSO Community Engagement Department

Featured Composer

DR PHOON YU

NAME:

Phoon Yu

BORN: 1990

BIRTHPLACE:

Pasir Panjang, Singapore

PROFESSION: Composer, Organist

Active in both Singapore and the United States, Dr Phoon Yu performs both classical and contemporary repertoire on the organ and is also known for numerous chamber music compositions. Read on to find out more about him!

Formative Years

Dr Phoon began composing while taking Music as an A-Level subject in National Junior College, and subsequently picked up the organ while serving National Service. He did so because he wanted to learn a keyboard instrument other than the piano, and it seemed easier to find practice opportunities for the organ as compared to the harpsichord (another Baroque-era keyboard instrument).

Dr Phoon and his music

His music tends to be contrapuntal (having multiple melodic lines moving against each other), and draws influences from contrasting styles — from the music of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi in the late Baroque period to the music of French composers Debussy, Ravel and Messiaen in the 20th century.

Dr Phoon and the organ

Dr Phoon remains active on the organ, and he tells us that playing it is very different from playing a piano, even though their keyboards look similar! He explains their differences below: “For one, the organ has a pedalboard which is a keyboard to be played by one’s feet. The key mechanism, which works in a piano by means of a hammer striking strings, is instead activated in an organ by admitting wind through many pipes of different shapes and sizes.

Lastly, every organ is different, from the number of keyboards to the number of stops (components that control the types of sounds the instrument can produce, allowing for a diverse combination of timbres) to the amount of extra electronic buttons, gadgets and trinkets that an instrument might have. This makes playing on different instruments an added challenge!”

Dr Phoon with friends Jonathan Shin (left) and Choy Siew Woon (middle) Harpsichord

Useful Advice

To organists: Always arrive early (and leave as late as possible) when you get practice time on an instrument. Experiment freely with registration (choosing combinations of sounds) when performing a piece of music, and get to know as many non-organist musicians as you can.

And to composers: Make lots of friends (some will ask you to write for them), learn from the lives and experiences of composers past, and keep an open mind towards opportunities for composition.

Dr Phoon (center-left at back with chequered shirt) having lunch with friends after Thanksgiving in New York City

Upcoming Happenings

Favourite food: Shellfish

Favourite drink: Sugarcane juice

Something people don’t know about you: I’d root for the villains in the few fictional universes I’m into.

Complete this: If you didn’t become a musician… I would be a historian or political scientist.

Dr Phoon is currently working on a few pieces for organ and trumpet to be performed at The Julliard School in New York City in October. Closer to home, he will also be performing with friends from The Lorong Boys on Sunday 1st October 4pm at the Victoria Concert Hall.

Scan the QR code to find out more!

Cover Story

The Industrial Age began in the mid-1700s in Great Britain, harnessing developments in science to spur advancements in technology and engineering. This significantly improved the quality of life for many middle-class citizens.

Musicians were not to be left behind in this race. Read on to find out more about how scientific developments shaped the development of Western Classical music in this era and beyond!

Valved Brass Instruments

Brass instruments originally comprised a single, uninterrupted length of pipe, which made it possible for pitches belonging to the relevant harmonic series to be played on it. This meant that not all pitches could be played; if a composer wanted a different set of pitches, he would have to ask the performer to swap out a length of tube on his instrument for another — a time-consuming process!

In the early 1800s, inventors created valve mechanisms for brass instruments, allowing performers to change the length of the instrument with the press of a ‘button’ that diverted blown air into an adjoining pipe of additional length! Modern brass instruments have three to four valves, which allow for all chromatic pitches to be played.

Three valves on a modern trumpet

The Saxophone

The saxophone is commonly thought of as a recent invention, but do you know that it was created as far back as 1840? Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax used his experience in improving the key system of the bass clarinet to create a new instrument that would combine the sound projection power of a brass instrument with the agility of a woodwind instrument. Hence, the saxophone was born, and even though even though it is rarely included in standard orchestral repertoire, it remains now a common sight in jazz, pop and military bands.

The modern pianoforte

The piano, first known as the fortepiano, was invented by Italian harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 as a new keyboard instrument that could play both forte (loud) and piano (soft) dynamics. This was achieved by having a hammer mechanism hit its strings, instead of the strings being plucked by a hook as in a harpsichord.

The Industrial Age saw the fortepiano undergo a number of improvements. Amongst other developments, improved technology saw high-carbon steel strings replacing weaker iron ones, while precision

Singaporean saxophonist Samuel Phua performing with the SSO in 2021.

Photo credit: Aloysius Lim

casting saw the production of massive iron frames that could withstand the enormous tension generated by the sheer number of strings. This improved instrument was now called the pianoforte, (commonly shortened to just piano), and featured an impressive capability for sound projection and newfound possibilities for expressiveness. Romantic Era composers such as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt exploited these characteristics to create dramatic new sound worlds.

Ondes Martenot

Often heard in sci-fi and horror films as an eerie, wiggly high-pitched sound, the ondes Martenot (with ‘Martenot’ always spelt with a big ‘M’) is an early version of the modern synthesizer, and required electricity to operate. Maurice Martenot, a French cellist who served as a radio operator during World War I, invented the instrument in 1928 to replicate the sound that was generated by the accidental overlaps of military radio oscillators.

It looks like a keyboard with a few additional features that give it its unique sound, such as keys that can provide a shaky vibrato effect when wiggled from side to side, and a wire in front of the keys that can be slid across with a finger to produce a glissando (a continuous slide upwards or downwards) effect.

Watch the ondes

Martenot in action here:

What’s Next?

The future has arrived! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now being used by composers to generate and develop ideas, while musicians may use it to generate new kinds of electronic sounds and effects to enhance and transform their performances. What would you imagine music performances to be like in a hundred years’ time?

Learn Your (Animal) Parts

Today, with more advances in science and technology than ever before, instruments are often constructed using man-made materials, such as plastics, synthetic fibres, and metals. However, it was not so long ago that organic materials were commonly used. Let us discover how some instruments made use of animal products — from tusks to hairs and even guts!

Plastic is the New Ivory

In the past, elephants had to be hunted for pianos to be made! As terrible as it sounds, ivory (made from elephant tusks) was commonly was commonly used to manufacture white piano keys. Fortunately, with an international ban and subsequent crackdown on the ivory trade in recent decades, these majestic and endangered animals have a new chance at life. Piano manufacturers have since switched to more ethical materials, such as plastic, to make their keys.

Gutting Facts About Violin Strings

Aside from the maple or ebony wood that a violin is made of, its strings come from an equally organic source too. Back in the day, animal intestines were the go-to material for making these strings. Despite being called “catgut”, they were actually not made of the guts of cats (phew!), but from a much more common livestock — sheep. While still used today, metal or synthetic polymer alternatives are used by those who prefer their strings to be made from an animal-friendly source.

No More Horsing Around

What about violin bows? That taut material you see stretched from one end of the bow to the other is actually horsehair! These natural fibres are obtained from abattoirs, cleaned, and then sent for quality control — only the sturdiest and straightest ones are selected because imperfect strands can affect the durability of the bow and the quality of sound it produces.

Ask Us Anything!

Sound is produced by vibrating air particles. In shorter instruments, which have less length in the air column, the particles will vibrate closer to each other. This results in a short wavelength, which is why shorter instruments are pitched higher than longer ones!

Similarly, a shorter string on the harp or a shorter bar on a xylophone will produce a pitch higher than a longer one.

I play the clarinet, which is one of the largest instrument families comprising over ten differently-sized and pitched clarinets, ranging from the Piccolo Clarinet in E-flat (49cm) to the Contrabass Clarinet in B-flat (265cm)!

The most common clarinet, the Soprano Clarinet in B-flat, is very similar in size to two other members of the clarinet family — the Clarinet in A and Clarinet in C. All three use the same mouthpiece and differ only slightly in pitch and timbre from each other. You will also notice that the longer the clarinet, the lower the pitch! Here are the differences between the three clarinets:

Soprano Clarinet in A

Pitched one semi-tone lower than the B-flat clarinet; more commonly used in orchestral works when the music calls for a warm and mellow sound

Most common clarinet used in the orchestras and symphonic bands

Pitched one whole tone higher than the B-flat clarinet; commonly used in the Classical period

– Li Xin

Associate Principal Clarinet, Singapore Symphony Orchestra

If you have a question about classical music or the workings of an orchestra, send them over to community@sso.org.sg , and it might be answered in the next issue of RhapSSOdy!

Symphony in the Gardens

On 22 July, our audience joined the SSO for an evening of music at the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, and Singapore’s very own composer, Leong Yoon Pin.

SSO National Day Concert 2023

On 13 August, members of the SNYO, together with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Choruses, the SSO celebrated our nation’s birthday with a concert featuring six pieces written by Singaporean composers.

Watch concert highlights here:

Temasek Foundation

Picture credit: Nathaniel Lim

Picture credit: Chrisppics+

President’s Young Performers Concert

Sat, 23 Sep 2023, 7.30pm

Victoria Concert Hall

SSO Babies’ Proms

Sat, 7 Oct 2023, 4pm & Sun, 8 Oct 2023, 11am & 2pm

Victoria Concert Hall

Recommended for ages 6 and below.

Butterfly Lovers

Violin Concerto

Fri & Sat, 10 & 11 Nov 2023, 7.30pm

Victoria Concert Hall

Magic Hour @ Raffles Hotel Singapore

Sat, 9 Dec 2023, 6pm

The Lawn, Raffles Arcade Raffles Singapore

VCHpresents Organ: Unboxing the Organ with Dr Phoon Yu and the Lorong Boys

Sun, 1 Oct 2023, 4pm

Victoria Concert Hall

VCHpresents Organ: A Haunted Halloween Hymn

Sat, 28 Oct 2023, 7.30pm & Sun, 29 Oct 2023, 4pm

Victoria Concert Hall

Temasek Foundation SSO Concerts for Children: Carnival of the Animals

Fri, 17 Nov 2023, 4pm & Sat, 18 Nov 2023, 11am & 2pm

Victoria Concert Hall

Recommended for ages 4 and above.

SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert

Thu & Fri, 14 & 15 Dec 2023, 7.30pm

Esplanade Concert Hall

All SSO Concerts are supported by the National Arts Council. Local schools are eligible for up to 50% subsidy from the Tote Board Arts Grant.

For the full listing of concerts and updates, visit sso.org.sg Information is correct at time of print.

For ticketing information and enquiries, email us at ticketing@sso.org.sg .