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Rasa Intermezzo by Belinda Foo

Though cast in the Western intermezzo form — reminiscent of Brahms’ late piano miniatures — Rasa Intermezzo serves as a meeting ground for diverse musical memories. The intermezzo becomes a vessel through which different sound worlds quietly converse. The piece opens with a dramatic motif derived from the Malay folk song Rasa Sayang. While grounded in the major scale, the emphasis on certain degrees subtly recalls the colour of the pelog scale. Beneath this, sustained low bass sonorities create a resonant, chime-like texture suggestive of gamelan. Against this deep, atmospheric foundation, the melody unfolds with warmth and tenderness — lyrical and human in contrast to the hypnotic bass resonance. An insistent ostinato evokes the tinkah and saua (knobbed gongs of traditional Malay ensembles), while sweeping gestures imitate the glissandi and plucked textures of the guzheng. A contrasting idea, inspired by the Chinese folk song Feng Yang Flower Drum, appears in dialogue with the gamelan-like sonority. Playful rhythmic inflections, reminiscent of the bangzi (woodblocks) of Chinese street opera, add vitality and movement. The composer describes the work as a tapestry of early childhood impressions — sounds absorbed from neighbours, festivals, and everyday life in multicultural Singapore. Familiar folk melodies coexist with explorations of gamelan timbre, Chinese percussion idioms, and gestures suggestive of sitar and tabla. The intermezzo form ultimately binds these elements together, shaping memory into a cohesive and expressive musical narrative. Belinda Foo is a Singaporean composer whose work spans concert music, stage productions, and film. With extensive experience in writing for theatre and large-scale productions, she possesses a keen sensitivity to instrumental colour and dramatic pacing. This theatrical instinct — the ability to shape atmosphere and narrative through sound — informs her piano writing, where orchestral imagination is often distilled into richly textured keyboard sonorities.