피아노 삼중주를 위한, "추분"
I. The Thin Place
제 1악장. “얇은 곳”
II. Tempo di bossa nove–Dancing Lights of Departing Souls
Duration: ca. 15 minutes
Photo taken in Urbana, Illinois on October 28, 2019
Commissioned by Illini Piano Trio, 일라이나이 트리오 위촉
Chukyung Park, violin, Seungwon Chung, cello, Hyeyeon Jung, piano
World Premiere
October 15 2025, Purugio Hall, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Autumnal Equinox takes its title and inspiration from the poem 추분 (“Autumnal Equinox”) by the Korean poet Ryu Si-hwa. It was the imagery of seasonal thresholds, or the liminality itself, in Ryu’s poetry that resonated deeply with me: the temporal but destined journey from autumn into winter, a passage that departs from life (light/summer) and drifts toward the realm of death (darkness/winter)—and the surreal, ominous temporary space in between.
In the poem, darkness, night, and winter appear as metaphors for death, contrasted with the cold brilliance of the autumn stars. At the same time, the protagonist’s resistance to death and sheer inner vitality and desire emerge with striking and life-affirming energy: “The eyelids of the planet tremble. / An old cry lives within me.” This juxtaposition of inner flame against pale starlight, “Until yesterday, I memorized the names of constellations outside, but from today, I gaze into the fire within me,” forms the basis of the first movement, The Thin Place.
The second movement, Dancing Lights of Departing Souls, is drawn from Ryu’s haunting vision of “late fireflies rising—no, they are not fireflies, but the lights of souls… the final dance of souls leaving after unfulfilled love.” This imagery suggested to me a fleeting yet luminous dance at the dusk of life. I shaped the movement as a kind of passacaglia, with a hint of modern harmonic saturation. Onto this framework, I layered rhythms and gestures drawn from bossa nova, which I have loved since my early years, to create a luminous, dance-like mobile atmosphere that mirrors the exotic and almost otherworldly imagery of the poem.
“
1.
태풍이 찢어 놓은 풍경을
지빠귀가 깁고 있다
바람에 얼굴 긁힌 별들 불가로 모이고
북두의 국자 기울어
더 많은 어둠을 쏟는다
달력에 남은 날짜 세어 보지만
오늘은 단 하루뿐
2
다른 날들보다 저녁이 일찍 찾아오고
새벽은 점점 더 늦게 온다
어제까지는 밖을 내다보았으나
오늘부터는 안을 들여다본다
빛과 어둠의 길이
잃은 것과 얻은 것 같아져서
기쁨은 굳이 슬픔을 지우지 않고
슬픔도 굳이 기쁨을 지우지 않는다
지금은 덧문을 닫고 타인의 거짓이 아니라
자신의 진실과 마주할 시간
이맘때부터 고독해지는 사람은
충분히 사랑하지 않은 것
어제까지는 밖에 있는 별자리 이름 외웠으나
오늘부터는 내 안의 불을 응시한다
[하략]
“
– 류시화, 추분
