Mario Tsz-Chun To and “The History of Knowledge”
Music has the ability to lift us out of the normality of life and remind us to hope, to aspire to create a better life for ourselves and others. It can be reflective, contemplative, and aspirational. Mario Tsz-Chun To was aware of this when he composed music for “The History of Knowledge”, commissioned by Meng Su (Grammy nominee for her Beijing Duo) for an exhibition in Shanghai in 2023. The exhibition held a month-long residency during August in Shanghai at the Yun Jian Future Art Center. Under the artistic direction of multiple Latin Grammy Award–Winner Sergio Assad, the installation featured five different interactive panels with individual musical pieces created to elicit emotional conduction. A resounding success internationally, “The History of Knowledge” recently made its American premiere in a performance by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Guitar Ensemble earlier this month.
Musicians are among the most proactive of all professionals. They manifest opportunities when inspired rather than waiting for “deep pockets” to seek them out. When Meng Su approached Mario with a request to compose a half-hour long musical contribution to her latest work, he instantly accepted and began its creation. With the Shanghai presentation scheduled for a month from this time, a mere four weeks was allotted for the realization of the music. Mario reflects, “When Meng Su approached me with this idea, I knew there was pressure to create quickly. Something about this idea excited me rather than dissuaded me. I actually enjoyed the pressure. I used an instrumentation of two classical guitars, lute, baroque guitar, and theorbo, which is a combination of different eras of plucked string instruments. It was quite a challenge for the players to learn these in a week and record them. Shout out to guitarists Meng Su, Eric Wang, lutenist Matt Wherley, and baroque guitarist Jonathan Shanley for learning and recording this in just a week.”
While beautifully lyrical in its presentation, there’s a complex layer of information transmitted through the backstory in each of the five movements that make up “The History of Knowledge.” The first movement, entitled “Cavemen, Fire and the First Ritual Dance” conjures imagery of mankind’s infancy and the unifying element of the warmth of fire. The rhythmic crackle of the fire prompted ritualistic dances for members of the tribe to celebrate joy and wonder. Movement two introduces the ideas of history and artistic expression with the discovery of pictographs on the cave walls to tell stories and inspire. Cave walls became the first libraries of knowledge, harboring the essence of human existence. “Voyage!”, the third movement of this piece is a triumphant and heroic message of people setting out on the path of discovery to engage with new lands and new peoples. This is perhaps the final optimistic message before the fourth movement entitled, “War… War Never Changes” in which the clashing of different cultures and the struggle for control over others is set in motion in a repeating cycle that we still face in present day. The closing component is “The Teacher and the Student” in which mankind’s interaction with knowledge and technology proposes the query of who will ultimately control whom?
Each part of “The History of Knowledge” infers a subtle concept but stops before supplying a judgmental statement. Perhaps it’s Mario’s goal to offer the listener the free will to arrive at their own conclusion. For his part, the composer finds the greatest satisfaction in the establishment of an emotional environment which provides the audience a means to contemplate these occurrences. Regarding the premier of this piece at a live concert in San Francisco, Mario To communicated, “It is always exhilarating to see my work realized in the world. Although I couldn’t be there in person for the premier, I was able to experience it through videos and the feedback from the visitors. I was there during the rehearsals and it was extremely interesting to me hearing how players think about my work. It was a challenging piece and some of the players were very excited to take on the demanding sections. It was also heartwarming to hear the players humming the theme after the rehearsals. I remember sitting at the back of the ensemble and seeing everyone in action to bring my composition to life. I felt overwhelmed by excitement and the fact that every note came to life by these wonderful musicians put a constant smile on my face.
Writer : Calvin Hooney
