"Then, as if breathing, the sea swelled beneath us"
Oswald Huỳnh (b. 1997)

THE STORY

Then, as if breathing, the sea swelled beneath us was commissioned by the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra from composer Oswald Huýnh, winner of their 2022 Classical Evolve Composer Competition. The title is from the first line of a poem called Immigrant Haibun by Ocean Vuong, with whom Huýnh shares Vietnamese heritage. The composer describes the work as “a contemplation of family traditions, dynamics of intergenerational relationships, and the barriers of communication between eras—both spoken and unspoken.” 

The first movement’s title is a Vietnamese proverb, translated as “when drinking water, remember its source.” Huýnh writes, “This movement considers filial piety and the responsibilities that are expected of each new generation.” The second movement is titled “But birds, as you say, fly forward”—a line from a poem by American poet Li-Young Lee called For a New Citizen of These United States, which describes the fixation with the past often experienced by immigrants. The third and final movement is another line from Immigrant Haibun: “I will learn to love a monster.” The movement explores how cultural and generational divides can make connection between immigrants and their children difficult, but also evokes the intense love and devotion that can bloom.

LISTEN FOR

• The melody introduced by a solo cello that begins the work and is transformed and passed down through each movement
• The duet of two violins in the second movement which Huýnh describes as two entities speaking to each other across time
• -The fragment of a melody from a popular Vietnamese song in the final movement as the cello theme is integrated into the texture

INSTRUMENTATION

Strings