Isang Yun’s second chamber symphony was composed and performed in 1989. It was the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, and Yun gave the subtitle ‘Den Opfern der Freiheit,’ meaning “To the Victims of Freedom.” Musicologist Wolfgang Sparrer, though taking notice more of “victims” than “freedom,” said that this is not a funeral symphony. Instead, Sparrer believed that it reflected Yun’s own difficult experience in his struggle for society’s freedom.
This symphony’s authorial ideas and dramaturgy resemble those of ‹Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju›(1981). For example, they each have three movements, and strings are in solidarity with woodwinds and against brass in the outer movements. In addition, the second movements of both are filled with elements of tragedy. However, this symphony is different from ‹Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju› in that it does not present emotional impact as bitterly as the latter. Rather, it contemplates tragedy and conflicts more calmly.
At the end of the first movement, Isang Yun forcefully writes the note “A,” which he had used since his Cello Concerto (1976) to symbolize the world of Idea, of gods or of Tao. The sudden appearance of this “A” in the midst of unresolved discords could suggest a bold declaration that this is the destination where we eventually have to reach someday. The middle section of the second movement, when the music swells up, gives sublime feelings.
At about the halfway of the third movement, the conflict is 'resolved' very quickly. It sounds like there has been no genuine settlement but a deceitful compromise, only to conceal the ongoing problems. This middle section ends up with the fiercely growling sound of the brass. The strings and woodwinds band together again for a struggle. Instead of with the note “A,” as in the case of the loud cry at the end of the opening movement, this finale comes to a close with a trill between G and G♯. At the same moment, the F by trumpet and B by trombone create diminished 5th ― diminished 12th to be more exact ― chord, giving terrifying warning signs.
WonCheol Kim
translated by Moohyun Cho
