Goi Ywei Chern - A Re-fusion of Time Programme Notes

A Re-fusion of Time

Saturday 19 September 2026, 1PM - 2PM

St Alfege Church Greenwich, London

Efe Yüksel, Goi Ywei Chern, and Siri Livingston will perform an eclectic array of music, from ancient to contemporary, from anonymous composers to a king, composed or arranged for a combination of melodica, guitar, voice, and percussion. The programme mainly follows the theme of water and sailing.

Poster designed by Tianjing Zhu.

Fish in the Sea - Traditional (arr. Goi)

William Taylor - Traditional (arr. Yüksel)

Threading Chaos - Goi Ywei Chern

I. Sunrise, Babylon

II. Wreathed in Grain

III. Distant Lights

IV. Nora

V. Spectre

VI. The Field at Dusk

Sea Fever - Siri Livingston

Flight - Goi Ywei Chern

Ja nus hons pris - Richard Coeur de Lion (arr. Goi)

Tourdion - Anonymous (arr. Goi)

Duo for guitar and melodica - Efe Yüksel

Dayung Sampan - Traditional (arr. Goi)

Epitaph - Seikilos (arr. Goi)

Traditional

Fish in the Sea (arr. Goi)

William Taylor (arr. Yüksel)

These sea shanties were arranged by the performers for this concert.

Goi Ywei Chern

Threading Chaos

I. Sunrise, Babylon

II. Wreathed in Grain

III. Distant Lights

IV. Nora

V. Spectre

VI. The Field at Dusk

These six short movements depict scenes from the story of Eumenes of Cardia, Alexander the Great's secretary, from Alexander's death in 323 BC to his own in 316 BC.

Sunrise, Babylon portrays the morning after the death of the king, a time of mourning which also promises a new, violent beginning as his successorts tear his empire apart.

Wreathed in Grain is titled after an episode decribed by Plutarch, in which Eumenes claimed to have seen, the day before his first major battle against another of Alexander's sucessors, a vision in which an army of Alexander supported by Demeter was victorious, and thus ordered his soldiers to "wreath their arms in ears of grain".

Distant Lights follows the period spent by Eumenes raiding the Anatolian territory claimed by another successor, Antipater. At this time he was said to have used fast raids with his experienced cavalry, in which I would imagine he would have been glad to see the distant lights of towns and villages, or cautious when spotting the camps of the enemy.

He was eventually cornered and defeated in battle by an ally of Antipater, Antigonus Monophthalmus. At this point he retreated to a Cappadocian fortress, Nora, to wait out his enemies.

After finally escaping, possibly through trickery, the siege of Nora, Eumenes gathered allies, some of which were unwilling to follow his command as he was a Greek rather than a Macedonian. Thus, he came up with a solution for planning his strategy by setting up a tent in which Alexander's diadem, sceptre, and throne were present, and so he and his allies could meet as equals in the presence of the king's Spectre.

The Field at Dusk refers to the battlefield near Gabiene, Eumenes' final battle. Here he faced and nearly defeated Antigonus, but during the battle his men's baggage were captured by the enemy, and as dusk fell there was no time to continue fighting to retrieve it. Thus, despite the battle being inconclusive and having inflicted far more casualties on the enemy, Eumenes' men betrayed himand delivered him to Antigonus in exchange for their possessions. Thus ends the story of Eumenes, who was executed shortly after by his reluctant former friend Antigonus, at the demand of his army.

Goi Ywei Chern, 2026

Siri Livingston

sea fever

sea fever is part contemporary sea shanty, part art-song: a dreamy meditation on the irresistible call of the open ocean and the romance and peril of long journeys, with a text by 20th century British poet laureate and sea merchant John Masefield. Set for the eclectic forces of mezzo-soprano, melodica, and acoustic guitar, sea fever teases salt-spray, sea-mist, and foghorns out of swelling cluster-chords, sul tasto guitar, and sparing moments of gestural intensity.

Goi Ywei Chern

Flight

This new piece was composed based on an improvisation by Goi, and incorporates polyrhythmic textures he enjoys playing.

Richard Coeur de Lion

Ja nus hons pris (arr. Goi)

This song was originally composed by Richard the Lionheart, the king of England around the year 1192, when he was imprisoned by Duke Leopold V of Austria after being shipwrecked on his way back to Europe after leading the Third Crusade in the Levant. In the lyrics, a letter he writes to his sister, he complains about how his many friends and subjects refuse to pay the ransom to get him out of prison. The lyrics, translated into English by Charmaine Lee, as are follows:

No prisoner will speak his mind fittingly unless he does so as a man in sorrow; but he can, for consolation, make a song. I have friends enough but the gifts are few; they will be shamed if for want of my ransom I am here for two winters a prisoner.

This my men and my barons – English, Norman, Poitevin and Gascon – know full well: I never had a companion so poor I would leave him in prison for the sake of wealth. I do not say this as a reproach, but I am still a prisoner.

Now I well and truly know for certain that a dead man or a prisoner has no friend or family, since I am left here for the sake of gold or silver. I fear for myself, but even more so for my people, for after my death they will be dishonoured, if I am held prisoner for a long time.

It is no wonder I have a grieving heart when my lord causes havoc in my land. If he were to remember our oath which we both made together, I know for sure that I would no longer be a prisoner here.

The men of Anjou and Touraine, those youths who are free and healthy, know full well that I am held far from them in another’s hands; they would help me greatly but see no money coming. The plains are now empty of fine arms because I am a prisoner.

My companions whom I loved and love still – the lords of Cayeux and of Perche – tell them, Song, that they are not men to rely on: the heart I had for them was never false nor faltering. If they now wage war on me, they will act most basely, as long as I were to remain a prisoner.

Countess sister, may the one to whom I appeal and on whose account I am a prisoner save and guard your sovereign worth for you.

I do not say this about the one in Chartres, The mother of Louis.No prisoner will speak his mind fittingly unless he does so as a man in sorrow; but he can, for consolation, make a song. I have friends enough but the gifts are few; they will be shamed if for want of my ransom I am here for two winters a prisoner.

It is no wonder I have a grieving heart when my lord causes havoc in my land. If he were to remember our oath which we both made together, I know for sure that I would no longer be a prisoner here.

Countess sister, may the one to whom I appeal and on whose account I am a prisoner save and guard your sovereign worth for you.

I do not say this about the one in Chartres, The mother of Louis.

Anonymous

Tourdion(arr. Goi)

This piece by an unknown composer was published by Pierre Attaingnant is 1530. It is a lively dance popular in France at the time, and similar to a galliard.

Efe Yüksel

Duo for guitar and melodica

"Duo for guitar and melodica" is an exploration of the matching (or mismatching) of analogous gestures on two instruments with significantly different physical constructs and techniques of playing. The piece aims to take the instruments beyond their grided natures (the keys of the melodica, and the frets of the guitar) and treat them as generators of noise.

Traditional

Dayung Sampan

This folk song about rowing a boat, or "sampan", is commonly heard in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Its melody has been used in the Mandarin song Tian Mi Mi, sung and popularised by Teresa Teng.

Seikilos

Seikilos Epitaph (arr. Goi & Yüksel)

The Seikilos Epitaph is the name given to the oldest complete music composition found thus far. Composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it was discovered engraved on a pillar in what is now Turkey in 1883. The name Seikilos is also engraved into the pillar as the person who placed it there. The lyrics, translated into English by Robert Rohland, are as follows:

As long as you're alive, shine, don't be sad at all;

life is short, time asks for its due

instagram - @efeyukselcomposer

website - https://efeyuksel.wixsite.com/composer

Efe Yüksel (1999) is a composer, electronic musician, and melodica performer from İzmir (Turkey), based in London. He is currently undertaking doctoral studies at the Guildhall School of Music, supervised by Julian Anderson and Aaron Einbond, looking into the structural organisation of inharmonic sonorities and formulating a personal theory of working with noise. His work involves exploring the physical capabilities of instruments via close collaborations and the use of live electronic processing. His works have been performed by the Zöllner-Roche Duo, Ligeti and Bozzini Quartets, Plus-Minus Ensemble, EXAUDI, glissotar performer Etienne Rolin and pianist Huw Watkins, among others. Alongside composing, he is active as a melodica performer, with a particular focus on the bass melodica, writing and commissioning new works for the instrument. He is supported by the Guildhall School Trust, Talent Unlimited and Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation and was the recipient of the Ian Horsbrugh Memorial Prize for Composition. He is currently working on a new piece for the LSO as part of the Panufnik Scheme.

instagram - @goiyweichern

website - www.goiyweichern.com

Goi Ywei Chern is a Singaporean composer and guitarist based in London. His music is evocative, intense, and mystical, often inspired by his interests in ancient history, mythology, and traditional music.

In 2025, his first opera Medusa, composed with a libretto by Jess McNulty, premiered in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. His song Letter from Heaven, composed for the Composers & Poets Forum Showcase: A Leeds Songbook in collaboration with poet Yvonne Ugarte, who wrote the lyrics, was performed in the Leeds Lieder Festival in 2024. His second opera, Orpheus & Eurydice, with libretto by Mayra Stergiou, premiered in 2026 as part of the Tête à Tête Festival in London. His compositions have been performed in Singapore, London, Leeds, Bangkok, and Ayrshire.

Goi has taken part in numerous performances and competitions, winning the 11th International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition (Senior Category) in 2023 and the Leong Yoon Pin Composition Competition in 2016. He also participated in MusicFest Aberystwyth in 2019, and he was selected as one of eight composers to participate in The Cumnock Tryst International Summer-School for Composers 2024 under the guidance of Sir James MacMillan and Oscar Bettison, where his piece Charybdis for contrabass clarinet and string trio was performed on the Dumfries House estate. In 2026 he was selected to be a Britten Pears Young Artist 2026-2027, composing a new piece, I must go on, under the guidance of Colin Matthews, Mark Anthony Turnage, and Helen Grime at Snape Maltings, which will be performed in the Aldeburgh Festival in 2027.

In 2026, Goi performed as the soloist in Efe Yüksel's piece Confluences for guitar and chamber ensemble, and he performs as part of Duo Flore with flautist Jess McNulty. He is currently undertaking a DMus (Composition Route) in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the supervision of Professors Richard Baker, Matt Kaner, and Julian Anderson.

He previously studied in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) School of Music, receiving his Diploma in Music Performance in 2016 and NAFA-RCM Undergraduate degree (funded by the OCBC Local Undergraduate Scholarship) in 2019, and the Royal College of Music, where he achieved a Distinction in the Master of Music in Composition degree . He has studied the guitar under Manuel Cabrera II and Hunter Mah and composition under Dr Zechariah Goh, Professor Kenneth Hesketh, and Professor Alison Kay.

instagram - @sirilivingstn

website - www.sirilivingston.co.uk

Siri Livingston is a Danish-Canadian composer. She has written for Olivia Jageurs, EXAUDI, the Plus-Minus Ensemble, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and players from the London Symphony Orchestra (cond. Jack Sheen). She has written extensively for Cambridge College choirs: as part of commissions (Robinson, present company) and the Minerva Composition Competition (Clare, Trinity, Gonville and Caius, cond. Sarah MacDonald). She has also cultivated collaborative relationships with instrumentalists such as Imogen Davey (Trio Farben), Dominic Stokes (Rothko Collective), Lydia Kenny (Bauhaus Quartet), Thomas Masciaga, Mirella Gruesser-Smith, Omri Kochavi, Nathanael Horton, and Somerset Peede, as well as poet and librettist Olivia Bell.

Her music has been performed at a wide variety of venues, including the Chateau d'Aix, the West Road Concert Hall, Poplar Union, the Milton Court Concert Hall, the Cambridge Zoology Museum, Olivia Jageur's virtual Harpy Hour series, Eugene Birman's Hong Kong-based composition intensive, Robinson College Chapel, The Place Theatre, Canterbury Cathedral, and at a virtual evensong commissioned and curated by present company. Her piece the isle is full of noises has been performed in various venues by Mirella Gruesser-Smith with the role of narrator assumed by actor Florence Roberts.

Siri has a Masters in Composition with merit from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with Sylvia Lim under the generous support of the Guildhall School Trust. She also studied Music at the University of Cambridge, receiving a starred first-class degree and specialising in composition with Darren Bloom. As a finalist of the Minerva Composition Competition, she received mentorship from Deborah Pritchard and Judith Weir.