kangyimusic

Climate change has made news headlines again due to the perpetual battle between
global warming skeptics and activists for immediate action. Recently, America withdrew
from the Paris agreement while approximately 200 nations are signatories. I am also
intrigued after watching several shocking documentaries. In Cameron Highlands of
Malaysia, illegal deforestation for tea plantations resulted in repeated flash floods and the
loss of lives. By the year 2050, there will be more plastics than fish in the ocean. Fish
ingest the non-biodegradable microplastics and humans then consume such seafood. In
addition, microplastics are leached into the ecosystem when we wash polyester
garments. Hence, I see a cyclical impact whereby human actions set off a chain reaction
which ultimately result in retribution or reward.

The melodic and harmonic basis of this piece is based entirely on the famous circle of
fifths. The piece begins by depicting the pristine forests and tranquil oceans in
“Codependence and Coexistence of Humans and Nature”. Since note pairs at opposite
ends of the circle of fifths forms a tritone, this circle of tritones forms the harmonic
progression for the middle fast section - “Deforestation, Pollution, Extinction”. Two pairs
of tritones (C-F#, A-Eb) feature prominently as they form the main axes of my circle.
Imagine the sounds of mechanical destruction like drilling and the chopping down of trees.
At the climax, the extreme notes of the piano are used to show that adverse climate
change is at the maximum level tolerable by our planet. Finally, in “Glimmer of Hope”, we
recognize the urgency of climate change and we are reversing the damage. The jerky
melody in the fast section reappears in this section in retrograde form.

I hope that individuals to large organizations can appreciate the tremendous impact of
their choices and actions. Singular actions, when combined, lead to large scale significant
outcomes.