Commission: Transient Canvas
Instrumentation: bass clarinet and marimba
Duration: 7 minutes
Program Information:
“very specifically vague” was an observation describing the usage of Singlish in an
r/Singapore discussion. In the work, I had the two protagonists (bass clarinet and
marimba) “speak” in a roundabout, specifically-vague way similar to that in Singlish.
Here’s a sample of Singlish’s very specifically-vagueness:
A: “Eh, lunch eat where ah?”
B: “Why not go to that place… the one behind the building…”
A: “Oh… The one next to the big tree, left hand side is alley one ah?”
B: “Think so lah. Opposite is the small park one correct?”
Premiere: March 3 2017 | Transient Canvas | Providence RI