Jen Shyu’s NINE DOORS (12 min collage)

Jen Shyu – {Nine Doors} - Co-presented by World Music Institute (Counterpoint Series) and National Sawdust (Summer Labs), in association with Asia Society (The recording and original language text of much of this music be found in the liner notes of Jen Shyu’s new “Song of Silver Geese“ album, to be released on Pi Recordings October 27, 2017: check back at ) Filmed at National Sawdust by Carlton Bright World Premiere - June 29, 2017, 7pm 10pm {Nine Doors} was inspired by the loss of Shyu’s friend Sri Joko Raharjo “Cilik,” who died with his wife and infant son in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Raharjo was a master of the Javanese art of shadow puppetry called wayang kulit. His 6-year-old daughter, who survived the crash, is the central character in Shyu’s piece. Time stops as she encounters powerful female legends—from the Wehali Kingdom of Timor to the Korean folkloric myth of Baridegi, the mother of all shamans—who become her guides. A mysterious phone booth in a gardener’s yard in Otsuchi, Japan, which has become a comfort to the families who lost loved ones in the 2011 Tsunami, also enters into the story, with the gardener having given Shyu permission to compose a piece with his poetry titled “Phone of the Wind” (“Kaze no Denwa”). The work reflects the parallels that exist between life and death, different cultures, and the importance of empathy over destructive assumptions that divide humanity. {Nine Doors} incorporates Shyu’s 15 years of study of traditional music from five countries: epic storytelling (Pansori), East Coast shaman music (DongHaeAhnByeolShinGut), and Binari, usually performed as a blessing for an audience, all from Korea; music from sub-districts Aileu and Ataúro from East Timor; Hengchun Folk Song with moon lute from Taiwan; Ledhekan, which combines Javanese dance with improvisational singing (Sindhenan) from Indonesia; and the “speaking-the-song“ or “katari“ with Japanese biwa, the rare 4-stringed instrument originally used by monks and priests. {Nine Doors} credits: Jen Shyu: Composition, vocals, Taiwanese moon lute, Korean gayageum and soribuk drum, Japanese biwa, piano, dance, sound design, choreography, Timorese gong and Korean gong (gwaenggwari) Alexandru Mihail: Director Kristen Robinson: Set & Props Designer Solomon Weisbard: Lighting Designer Naoko Nagata: Costume designer Danang Pamungkas: Javanese “Bedhaya Pangkur Tunggal” choregraphy Lianne Arnold, Projection Programmer Satoshi Haga: Co-director with Shyu of Song of Silver Geese (2016), which inspired much of {Nine Doors} Review in Theater Scene: