Tan Chan Boon (b.1965)
Reminiscence, Op. 55 for solo piano
i. Reminiscence - attaca
ii. Fugue I
iii. Fugue II
iv. Fugue III - Reminiscence
Commissioned in 2008 for the Singapore Piano Festival, Reminiscence Op. 55, with its complex and intertwining fugal textures, was deemed by the pianist to be both non-pianistic and unbefitting for the concert hall. Comprising four movements, three fugues are preceded by an introductory movement that opens with a three-note motif (known as the ‘reminiscence theme’), characteristically speaking of a solitary man walking and reminiscing, deep into a forest. The chromatic Fugue I, originally composed in 1995, was a standalone work that received its world premiere in 2000. Later it was adapted to become the second movement of Op. 55, and the ‘reminiscence theme’ finds its way in various places at the uppermost voice part.
Although the third movement (Fugue II) begins with its own subject, a double fugue results in the recapitulation section with an inclusion of the chromatic subject from Fugue I. Later, the ‘reminiscence theme’ re-enters and prevails throughout its coda. The finale fugue is an inversion of the ‘reminiscence theme’ that functions as an extension of the first movement, and although its coda is brief, it is imaginably more complex.The work’s ending cadence is adapted from the composer’s Fourth Symphony (2004-05), signifying the dawn of Eternal Calm after the Flood. The composer likens the work to a journey deep down into a forest, eventually seeking light and hope.
Reminiscence Op. 55 was premiered by pianist Miyuki Washimiya at Kris Foundation’s “Wassy Fantasia” on 17 November 2009 at the Esplanade Recital Studio.
