Lux Aeterna || September Challenge 2024

An overview of my color palette and what each color represents:

Aqua (The Day) - Calmness, Clarity, Vitality

Midnight Blue (The Night) - Calmness, Doubt, Instability, Sleepiness

Silver (The Past) - Nostalgia, Longing, Simplicity

Vermillion (The Present) - Anxiety, Alertness, Energy

Gold (The Future) - Faith, Hope, Happiness

The piece opens with aqua, representing calmness, clarity, and vitality. The color then switches to midnight blue, one of the darkest shades of blue. The midnight blue represents the same calmness as aqua does, but with a hint of doubt, instability, and sleepiness. The aqua and midnight blue in the first half of the piece also represent the night and day, while second half of the piece symbolizes the past, present, and future. The silver section, representing the past, evokes feelings of nostalgia and longing. Vermillion, to me is a color that represents anxiety, a feeling that makes the present feel so real and raw. Gold, symbolizes by the future, represents hope, happiness, and most importantly, a light at the end of the tunnel during a dark time.
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The title, Lux Aeterna, is a Latin phrase meaning eternal light, which I like to think of as a summary of life. This piece is very different from anything I’ve ever composed. Firstly, I didn’t use any of the instruments I would typically use in my songs (piano, flute, string ensemble, bass drum). The dizi is an instrument I’ve hardly ever used, but I find it to be extremely underrated. This piece was also slightly inspired by religious/requiem music. I definitely tried to push myself outside of my comfort zone to create something unique from any of my other songs.