Chitpong

A special prelude on the verse and melody of a traditional Buddhist chant "Homage to the Buddha (องค์ใดพระสัมพุทธ)". The verse was composed by Phraya Sri Sunthorn Vohaan (พระยาศรีสุนทรโวหาร - น้อย อาจารยางกูร) who lived during 1822-1891. The composer of the melody was unknown. Most Thai people around my age had to 'sing' this chant once every week in school. It's about the enlightening character of Lord Buddha and his virtue that he taught the way that we can remove ourselves from suffering. It is a very beautiful chant, both verse and melody. I became more appreciated about this chant once I have begun true practice of Buddhism, so this prelude is a way that I can share this appreciation that I hope could inspire anyone to the Path. บทพรีลูดจากบทสรรเสริญพระพุทธคุณ ทำนองสรภัญญะ "องค์ใดพระสัมพุทธ" ประพันธ์บทสวดมนต์โดยพระยาศรีสุนทรโวหาร - น้อย อาจารยางกูร ส่วนทำนองไม่ทราบว่าใครเป็นผู้ประพันธ์ คนไทยส่วนใหญ่คงเคยสวดบทสรภัญญะนี้สัปดาห์ละครั้งที่โรงเรียน...

A fugue in its traditional style. I have refrained to compose a fugue like this because I couldn't wait to explore what fugues can be. This is a come back to its root. Evenly paced, heavy emphasis on dominant-tonic relationship, baroque ornamentation. This combination made traditional fugue so satisfying because they reach to the mind at its most fundamental level.

A prelude in a hybrid form. It is a binary form (AB) with extended A section that repeats and cycles through dominant keys. The ending is a short recapitulation of the A section that unconventionally ends on a dominant seventh chord. In contrast to the previous fugue, this prelude took a surge of inspiration and two cups of coffee so it was completed in just a few hours. Its theme is a continuation of the previous pair, that is an introspection of life, now with unanswered mystery.

A triple fugue. Each of the three subjects has only one episode of its own. All three subjects ultimately fuse at the ending of the third episode. This fugue took 23 days to complete. It is very difficult, very intense, and very personal.

This prelude starts Episode 3 of Preludes & Fugues. It is in rondo ABACA form. This is one of the pieces that I paid so much attention to give life to it. There are some 'Japanese' chord sequence which I discovered and that sounds heart-warming and poignant.

The last fugue of Episode 2. A four-voice half-time double fugue. It is very quick and rough, almost barbaric, almost comical. This is the I-don't-care fugue and as such is for everyone.

A modern art prelude. Notes and spaces are left out, defy common expectation, to let listeners fill in their own music. This is the last prelude of Episode 2, setting up the mood and tone of what is to come in Episode 3.