Odoru

Odoru takes its title from a Japanese verb that can mean to dance, jump, or leap, and can also describe a throbbing pulse or a pounding heart. These intertwined meanings shape the work’s physical and musical character.

Written for cellist Emma Kato, Odoru is dedicated to the Koe Duo in gratitude for their commitment to championing the work of living AAPI composers. Inspired by their commitment, the piece draws its sound world, tonal colors, and some of its playing techniques from a variety of plucked and bowed string instruments in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese musical traditions.

Conceived as a kind of choreography for cellist and instrument, Odoru explores a sound world beyond the cello’s traditionally lyrical voice. Percussive gestures, insistent grooves, and unconventional sonorities transform the cello into both a melodic and rhythmic force. The performer’s movements are integral to the piece: hands and bow seem to dance across the strings and body of the instrument, making the music as visual as it is audible. Restless, playful, and visceral, Odoru invites the listener to experience the piece not only as sound, but as motion: the leap of the body and the quickening of the heart.