Gasing
ISMN : 979-0-2325-7848-4
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Gasing is a Malay spinning top that is spun from a string. To launch a gasing, players coil a string tightly around the gasing and throw it while holding onto one end of the string. The game of gasing may be played competitively, where the winner is determined by the gasing that spins for the longest duration or the gasing that knocks the opponent’s gasing out of the playing area. This piece musically depicts the gestures involved in launching a gasing and the motion of the spinning tops in a competitive game of gasing. To open the piece, the two imaginary gasing players, each represented by one hand, taunt each other while coiling the strings around their gasing. A playful battle of gasing ensues with the tops spinning and colliding into each other. As the game progresses, the music evolves into a whirling fantasy, evoking the dizzying, swirling, and spiralling world of a spinning gasing. Finally, the gasing spins slower and slower, eventually tipping over and ending the game.
This work was commissioned as the set piece for the National Piano and Violin Competition 2021 (Piano Artist Category).
Pages - 18
Evan J Lawson
Henrik Denerin
Nicolas Mondon
