Suejin Jung

Breathmark

Nature is my sanctuary and source of creative energy; I retreat to it whenever I find myself overwhelmed by stress or questioning my purpose. The grandiose, expansive, and symbolic styles in the music of Rameau, Chopin, and Debussy depict what I see and feel in nature—joy, hope, and love.

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About the album

Nature is my sanctuary and source of creative energy; I retreat to it whenever I find myself overwhelmed by stress or questioning my purpose. The grandiose, expansive, and symbolic styles in the music of Rameau, Chopin, and Debussy depict what I see and feel in nature—joy, hope, and love.

I am transported into nature when I play my piano part in Kyong Mee Choi’s, musique concrete composition “Until Heard,” which features raw recordings and electronically produced sounds of nature. My organic senses are revitalized in ways piano acoustics alone have never done.

When I came across Jaroslaw Kapusincski’s audio-visual composition “Side Effect,” I immediately fell in love with its incredible marriage of sound and visual landscape. The music follows ten short videos, each shot 150 meters above ground in Poland by photographer and pilot Kacper Kowalski. The aerial view reveals beautifully how humans and nature can coexist symbiotically and aesthetically.

The feature “Breathmark” track (Goodmesh Concours 2020 Entry Project) explores our collective need to address the climate crisis and social injustice. It was a collaboration between myself, as the pianist and creative director, composer Scott Ordway, animator Qi Lu, and dancer Jada German. After completing this project, I knew there was more to be done.

The reality of the climate crisis today leaves us in a dissonant environment: extreme hurricanes, endangered species, ice sheets melting, accidental, but devastating wildfires. To put together this hour-long musical puzzle, I mixed the standard repertoires of Rameau, Chopin, and Debussy with new contemporary music—an interesting juxtaposition of what nature represented for composers back then and now. The blended tones of classical and contemporary music with other forms of art, express the inexpressible: harmony in this cacophonous world.

My mixed emotions of awe, mystery, dream, trepidation and hope for nature and humanity have been strung together in this multimedia program. It is a deep dive into exploring our unique, magical relationship with the natural world.

I hope my Breathmark album will bring awareness to the climate crisis and social injustices–and inspire change. I believe that the mysterious forces of awe, spirituality, and beauty we feel when we confront nature is a collective experience. The music I present reminds us of our unique relationship with nature.

Let’s nurture it one breath at a time.

Tracklist click to play/pause

  • Kyong Mee Choi

    Until Heard

    10:34 Play button Pause button 10:34
  • Claude Debussy

    Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir

    4:18 Play button Pause button 4:18
  • Claude Debussy

    Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest

    4:07 Play button Pause button 4:07
  • Frédéric Chopin

    Barcarolle, Op. 60

    9:13 Play button Pause button 9:13
  • Jarosław Kapuściński

    Side Effects

    1. I. Roof
      1:17 Play button Pause button 1:17
    2. II. Bulldozer
      1:38 Play button Pause button 1:38
    3. III. Boat
      2:45 Play button Pause button 2:45
    4. IV. Canoe
      1:40 Play button Pause button 1:40
    5. V. Beach
      0:59 Play button Pause button 0:59
    6. VI. Waterslide
      0:53 Play button Pause button 0:53
    7. VII. Cemetery
      1:48 Play button Pause button 1:48
    8. VIII. Harvest
      1:21 Play button Pause button 1:21
    9. IX. Highway
      1:23 Play button Pause button 1:23
    10. X. Glacier
      2:47 Play button Pause button 2:47
  • Jean-Philippe Rameau

    Le rappel des oiseaux

    3:05 Play button Pause button 3:05
  • Scott Ordway

    Breathmark

    10:57 Play button Pause button 10:57

More information

Label TRPTK
Genre(s) Classical – Baroque (1600-1750)
Classical – Romantic (1830-1920)
Classical – Contemporary (> 1920)
Artist(s) Suejin Jung
Composer(s) Choi, Kyong Mee
Chopin, Frédéric
Debussy, Claude
Kapuściński, Jarosław
Ordway, Scott
Rameau, Jean-Philippe
Recording location(s) Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam (NL)
Recording date(s) May - July 2022
Cat. No.

TTK 0101

Release date

April 7th, 2023

Tech specs

Microphones

Josephson C617 w/ Gefell MK103.1 capsules (main)
DPA 4006A (height)

Microphone preamps

Millennia HV-3D-8

AD/DA conversion

Merging Technologies Hapi
Merging Technologies Anubis
Grimm Audio CC2

Recording resolution

DSD 11.2MHz 1bit

Mastering resolution

PCM 352.8kHz 64bit

Monitoring (recording)

KEF LS50
Audeze LCD-X

Monitoring (mastering)

KEF Blade Two
KEF LS50 Meta
Hegel H30
Hegel C55

Cabling

Furutech custom microphone cables
Furutech custom interlinks
Furutech custom power cables
Furutech custom loudspeaker cables
Grimm Audio TPR8 breakout cables
Purecable Prime DIG75 word clock cable

"A magnificent recital, extremely facetious, exhilarating, alternately mysterious, dreamy and lighthearted, but also profound, contemplative and non-epathetic. This is empathetic playing of the highest order, captured phenomenally by recording engineer Brendon Heinst."

Aart van der Wal, Opus Klassiek

"The highly experimental Until Heard by composer Kyong Mee Chai, offers the grand piano in a huge spatial setting of electronic sounds and atmospheres. The electrostats present this as a fascinating wall of sound and stand out for the extremely fine sound of the grand piano and its startling dynamics."

Ruud Junker, HiFi.nl

"Throughout the album, Suejin Jung evidences a high level of artistry, skillful technique, and inventive programming. It is a thoughtful and engaging mixing of the standard repertoires of Rameau, Chopin, and Debussy with new contemporary music. I wish more artists were taking on this kind of creative programming in their recitals and recordings. Very nicely done!"

Rushton Paul, Positive Feedback

"Typical for a TRPTK release, the production quality is superb, and recording engineer Brendon Heinst has captured her playing exquisitely. That the label regards the recording process with the utmost seriousness is shown by the list of microphones, cables, and other studio-related details included in the album booklet. This is a company dedicated to presenting its artists' work with the greatest integrity possible, Jung included."

Ron Schepper, Textura

SKU: TTK 0101 SA Category:
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