RondoFest 2022 has ended in September 2022. It is an honoured that Kenny Ooi, the founder of Rondo Productions, gave me an opportunity to write a piece for violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, double bass and piano. It was a big achievement to write this piece "Princess with Twenty Skirts". This composition is based on the folk tale of Netherlands. Also, the theme of the year from RondoProductions is about transformation. With the folk tale and transformation, and also being a Malaysian composer, my composition includes this three main elements.
The recording of the composition will be premiered on 10 November 2022, 8.15pm
I. The Princess Princess with Twenty Skirts is a Dutch Folk Tale, it is about a princess that that has an ugly heart, misbehaves and treat her servants badly. The king was very worried as he doesn’t know how to correct her daughter. However, the king saw some hope in her as the princess are like him, really kind and patient to animals. II. The Young King Moving on to the second movement, it talks about how the king was young, he has a loving heart to all animals and trees. He saved an oak tree by stopping all men to cut down and and also saved an auroch (bull) getting killed. The tree and the auroch felt grateful and gave the young king some blessings. “Cut my body into staves, make a wooden petticoat, like a barrel, for your daughter. When her temper is bad, let her put it on and wear it until she promises to be good,” said the tree right before the tree fell. “Saw off my right horn and make of it a comb for use on your daughter's curls,” said the auroch before he passed away. III. Wooden Petticoat & Auroch’s comb The third movement, where the transformation happens. Whenever the princess misbehaves, she was forced to wear the wooden petticoat. As days passed by, she was really kind to her servants. One day, as her servants combed her hair with the aurochs horn, the princess showed kindness and understanding to all her subjects. Everyone in the kingdom has slowly forgotten the misbehaviour of the princess. IV. Flower of the Flax Forth movement, one summer, as the princess was walking down in the forest, she came through a flower, that grew on where the oak tree was. That flower is claimed to be the flower of the flax. This flower could spin into beautiful cloths. The princess loved how smooth the cloth and wanted to have twenty skirts on her. This has impacted the fashion of Dutch, that most of the lady’s dresses are many layers of skirts.
Here are snippets of score of the composition:
Hope you guys enjoy!
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