Confessions Of A Pangolin
(2020)
for string quartet
I. 乐趣 悖论 (Pleasure Paradox) II. 岔路 (Fork In The Road) III. 仪式 和 葬礼 (Rituals & Obsequies) IV. 赎罪 战争 (War of Atonement)
commissioned Stephanie Skor & the Lux String Quartet
premiered by the Lux String Quartet on 15 Nov 2024 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Northfield, MN, USA
featured in “Expanding Our Roots”: Northfield Debut, Lux at MetroNOME, St Paul Recital Series
recording: complete ~ Lux String Quartet
score available through The Australian Music Centre
duration: 25’
genre: Chamber - Small
category: Ambrosia, Esoterica
In part, the origin story of Confessions of A Pangolin stems from another, far more monolithic origin story: that of the COVID19 pandemic. It seems hard to imagine now - much of the pain and suffering has faded - but there was a time when we obsessed over where the virus came from. In my home country of Australia, that curiosity came to a head in April 2020, when our prime minister publicly called for an investigation into the virus's genesis. The Chinese government did not take kindly to this, slapping significant tariffs on various Aussie exports: barley, coal, wine, lobsters(!?). Ultimately, this 'wolf-warrior' tactic didn't damage our economy as intended, but it did succeed in shutting down meaningful discussion about how COVID19 came to be.
The moratorium on any real investigation left plenty of room for speculation, sensible or otherwise. And this is where Confessions of A Pangolin comes in. The work is the story, or more accurately, a story of the COVID19 pandemic's origins. Undoubtedly, my account has no credibility, being a hodgepodge of scientific conjecture, wild fantasy and old-fashioned silliness, realised in an esoteric genre of the vaguest, most abstract medium. But it was fun to come up with, and hopefully, in some small way, it will be a salve for the plague's more mundane horrors.
The work is divided into four movements, each a chapter in this origin story:
I. A Chinese pangolin - a kind of ridiculous, scaly, anteater-like mammal - contemplates the horrors ze has unleashed on the world. Ze recounts first zer love affair with a bat, whereby the SARS-CoV-2 virus is unwittingly transmitted across species. (Where the bat got it from, well, maybe that's the basis of another string quartet...) Their love lasts for a while, but eventually disintegrates, giving way to a new relationship between the pangolin and a human being. The whirlwind of this romance belies the danger the transmission of the virus poses... Anxiety and passion are felt in equal measures.
II. Both the pangolin and the human get quite sick from SARS-CoV-2. Things are not looking good for either, and so foreboding ensues. Happily, the pangolin fights the virus with great vigour and wins, but zer human lover is not so lucky and pays the ultimate price.
III. The human's funeral takes place, in keeping with the pangolin's cultural tradition. (Presumably some kind of conversion took place earlier, perhaps a final gift for the lover left behind...?). The pangolin finds zerself on an emotional rollercoaster, dominated by grief for zer lover and guilt for being the cause of zer death.
IV. Unbeknownst to the pangolin and zer fellow mourners, the funeral was a super-spreader event: the virus is now established in the human population. With great horror, the pangolin witnesses its deadly rampage. But there is hope: ze vows to use all zer magical powers to fight the doom ze has unleashed on the world.
Of course, any neo-high modernist or neo-neo-classicist worth their salt will pooh-pooh this whole extramusical narrative thing and demand the work stand on its own. And this is the other part of the Confessions of A Pangolin origin story: the lovely Stephanie Skor requested I write a work specifically for the marvellous Lux String Quartet. My heartfelt thanks to Stephanie, Ellen, Kirsti and Rosa for all their hard work and artistry. Whether it's the soloistic virtuosity, ensemble conjury or bounty of colours both ancient and new, I hope I've created a space in which Lux can shine as brightly as they should.
