Si fallor, sum (2008)
Duration: 8 minutes
Instrumentation: piano
Program Information:
The foundations of Western philosophy can be seen in ‘Cogito, ergo sum’ (‘I think, therefore I am’), a philosophical statement used by René Descartes in his Discourse on Method (1637). Although the idea expressed in ‘Cogito, ergo sum’ is widely attributed to Descartes, many predecessors offer similar arguments — particularly St. Augustine of Hippo in De Civitate Dei: ‘Si […] fallor, sum’ (‘If I am mistaken, I am’) (book XI, 26).
“For if I am mistaken, I am. For one who does not exist cannot be mistaken either.” – St. Augustine of Hippo
Si fallor, sum is written as a concert-opening piece with its brash opening chords that wakes the audiences’ ears. These chords cast the foundations of the harmonic language and melodic motives to follow in the piece. Si fallor, sum is like a smorgasbord of sounds, created by the organic, spontaneous and continuous development of the opening gesture; like Si fallor, sum had developed into what we see as Western philosophical thought today.
Premiere:
March 19 2009 | Hui-Ling Khoo | Conservatory Concert Hall / Singapore
Performance:
⇾ July 11 2009 | Abigail Sin | University Cultural Center Hall / Singapore
⇾ March 28 2010 | Sophia Yan | Jan Hus Church / New York, NY
⇾ April 28 2011 | Michael Sheppard | Cohen Davidson Family Theater / Baltimore MD
⇾ March 21 2013 | Abigail Sin | Conservatory Concert Hall / Singapore
⇾ May 5 2013 | Abigail Sin | Singapore Conference Hall / Singapore
➝ October 28 2018 | Martha Thomas | HausMusik / Knoxville TN|
➝ November 8 2018 | Martha Thomas | Trinity United Methodist Church / Savannah GA
➝ November 12 2018 | Martha Thomas | Ramsey Hall / Athens GA
➝ February 23 2019 | Martha Thomas | First Presbyterian Church of Athens / Athens GA
➝ April 5 2019 | Martha Thomas | University of Nebraska Kearney, Kearney NE
➝ February 24 2022 | Forest Collective | Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Australia
➝ February 26 2022 | Forest Collective | Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Australia
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