Romance IX | CHANGJin Ha (2024) | Songhyeon Kim, Piano | Score Follower

00:12 Song without Words
04:43 Romance IX

Songhyeon Kim, Piano

Program note:
Romance IX is the last piece in my Romance series that explores unusual aspects of love. It comprises two piano solo pieces inspired by the Schumannian idiom, reflecting on his final moments. The first piece, Song without Words, is a three-minute work sketched in early 2023. It serves as a prelude within the Schumannian atmosphere: it eschews a dramatic climax, focusing instead on subtle yet exquisite details without direct quotations from Schumann.
The second and main piece, Romance IX, delves into the period from when Schumann composed his last work, Geistervariationen WoO 24 (Ghost Variation), to his life's end. The piece is through-composed based on rough variation design, without any clear cadence to illustrate endless thoughts that emerge and disappear without form. Beginning with my original Romance motif, G-flat—E-flat—D, its variations are layered with the sustained pedal with the tempo instruction 'poco a poco pensando' - little by little thinking. Soon the individual lines gradually lose their substance, merging into a cluster of directionless thoughts. Then the main melody emerges from diminished sonority and wanders without a definitive cadence. As the piece reaches its climactic point, it abruptly transitions into two direct quotations from Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze: no. 14. Zart und singend and no. 17. Wie aus Der Ferne. Additional chromatic lines are added to the latter quotation to evoke the impression of his Geistervariationen. The music then returns to the main wandering melody that suddenly ascends to G Major, symbolizing a transcendent end for Schumann. The piece culminates with starlight-like notes that stitch together moments of time, leading to a profound inner confession in the extreme register.
I chose Schumann as the final topic of my Romance series because his music exhibits the truest love for himself. I attempted to look very closely into my own ‘innersten’, instead of focusing on meticulous structural design as usual in my other pieces. This piece would not have come into the world without the help of Songhyeon Kim, the pianist. I thank him for providing his deepest yet brightest musical insight and I dedicate this piece to him, my friend.


Composed during: 202302 - 20240507
Premiered on: May 7, 2024. Tuesday Night New Music, Jordan Hall of New England Conservatory