Clima(c)tic Consensus (flute and guitar)

According to the 2021 UN World Meteorological Organization Report, climate disasters killed 115 people and caused US$ 202 million in losses daily over the past 50 years. Each decade from the 1980s has been warmer than all the decades that came before, and 2019 concludes the warmest decade in records since the mid-19th century. The number of billion-dollar climate catastrophes has increased from 29 events in 1980s to 119 in 2010s. During the conception and composition of this work, news headlines were reporting on wildfires in Australia, the Amazon and the US west coast. Severe fires also hit Greece, Turkey, Spain and Siberia, while once-in-a-century flooding wreaked havoc in Europe and Asia. Further delay in mitigating climate change will lead to greater deaths, property destruction, and dire economic impact. Motifs in the first movement are derived from Spanish Vaqueirada folk tunes. The beginning speaks of calm before imminent storm. Beneath the beautiful flute melody is an uncertain changing tonality. Next, fast tempo dominates with an almost perpetual motion to depict the calamities of floods and wildfires. The music progresses eventually to a climax where the Vaqueirada melodic theme is finally presented in a grandiose fashion. The second movement enters an apocalyptic world using the transfigured theme of Dayung Sampan (Paddle Sampan) – a traditional Indonesian folk tune popularized by the late Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. I envision paddling a boat through flooded streets, or passing through wildfire-stricken communities. The barren scene is created using extended techniques of the flute and guitar. Next, a hymn of hope appears. Chalaneru, a popular folk song from the Asturias in Spain, is subtly presented in counterpoint with Dayung Sampan. Interestingly, both the sampan and chalana refer to boats. Polyrhythm and bitonality form the premise of this work. While the piece begins in D major and e minor, the bitonal ending shifts upwards to E major and f# minor. The final ending presents the devilish tritone amidst the percussive effects – symbolic of the existential threat facing humanity.