Serenade for Strings No.3 “Baekdudaegan” Chamber Music - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1888645

Serenade for Strings No.3 “Baekdudaegan”

The “Baekdudaegan” is a massive mountain range stretching approximately 1,400 km from Mt. Baekdu to Mt. Jiri, regarded as the backbone of the Korean Peninsula and the source of its vitality. This mountain range serves as a boundary where waterways, dialects, customs, and climates diverge from east to west, giving rise to unique regional cultures. Korean ancestors viewed mountains as living organisms, and the Baekdudaegan served as the central axis that bound geography, ecology, and culture together.

The first movement begins by expressing the mystery of the Baekdudaegan in a short introduction, after which it unfolds in a modified sonata form. Following the first theme, which is grand and lively in its character and instills excitement, the second theme quotes the Korean folk song “Bulmaega” to express the deep sorrow and resentment of the Korean people. This is a work song sung by our ancestors while working the bellows, deeply embodying the distinctly Korean sentiment of han. Additionally, the Gutgeori rhythm, widely used throughout the Korean Peninsula, appears intermittently, symbolically representing the vastness and vitality of the Baekdudaegan. Thus, the first movement combines national sentiment with the grandeur of nature, unfolding a musical journey deeply imbued with Korean character.

The second movement is composed in a three-part A-B-A form and depicts the scenery of mountains and rivers viewed from above a clear and bright sky. The sight of the river flowing majestically around the mountains, along with the shimmering of the water, is also visible. The clear and bright sky is expressed through the harmonic tones of string instruments; the mountain landscape, which appears peaceful yet majestic and at times passionate, is represented by ascending and descending melodic patterns involving stepwise and leaping motions; and the flow of the river is expressed through bass instruments with a rich, deep tone.

The third movement is composed in an A-B-A-C-A rondo form. It focuses on the symbolism of the "Baekdudaegan," the sacred mountain range and homeland of the Korean people. In this movement, the meaning of "beginning and end" is imbued, serving as a spiritual pillar where life begins and concludes, and as a vast source encompassing all things.
Theme A depicts the immense spirit and majestic grandeur of the Baekdudaegan, representing the "beginning" of all things.
Theme B sings of the magnificent scenery unfolding along the ridges and the beauty of nature through lyrical melodies.
Theme C symbolizes the "end" and the conclusion of life. By reinterpreting and quoting the traditional Korean "Sangyeo Sori" (funeral procession song) from a serious and artistic perspective, it expresses the eternity that death is not an end, but a return to nature and a cycle.

This piece was composed in 2026 upon commission from the Academy of Passion & Sharing Symphonia (APS Symphonia, Principal Conductor: Jin Yun-il). The Academy of Passion & Sharing APS Symphonia is an organization of professional musicians with a passion for music, founded in 2015 by Violist and Conductor Jin Yun-il based on the shared philosophy of sharing musical passion with the audience.