Breath of the Forest

Pleased to announce that my work “Breath of the Forest” in WebXR 3D game is accepted by NIME2023 workshop “Mixed Realities as NIMEs.” Specially thanks for Cheng-Yu Wu’s flute performance and recordings!

Concept

What is the relationship between life and nature? This is a question that we may increasingly find ourselves asking in the 21st century.

Nature is a creation of God, as are human beings. Therefore, nature should not be regarded merely as a “place” or “space” in which we live and from which we take resources. Rather, nature can be understood as a vividly living whole with which we are constantly connected. Human beings and nature coexist, interact, and continuously shape one another’s lives. From bacteria and animals to ecosystems and environments, human activity is inseparable from the living systems of which we are a part.

Through these conscious and unconscious interactions between human beings and nature, we may perceive both as expressions of a greater consciousness—the One, or God.

This work seeks to depict the interaction between human life and this greater consciousness through nature. Passages of music and sounds derived from nature appear throughout the piece according to an algorithmically determined, seemingly random process. Like events in our lives, they emerge in an order that we cannot fully predict. These events may be understood as gifts or circumstances given to us by God. At times, they may seem destined; at other times, they appear open to change, because through the ways we respond to them, we participate in creating the events that follow.

In the music, the flute represents our emotional responses to these events in life. A single event can provoke many different responses, and each response can lead to a different subsequent event. The audience is invited to choose how the flute responds to each particular event. Through these choices, the audience gradually shapes the trajectory of the musical work.

In this sense, the structure of the piece becomes a metaphor for the way we create our own lives: we cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond. Through these responses, we shape what comes next.

We learn, create, and appreciate our lives—all at the same time. Although life is given to us, we are never merely passive recipients of it. We are always participants in its creation. And through this continuous process of interaction, choice, and creation, we become part of the One—the greater consciousness we call God.