Peace for Cambodia (flute and guitar)

This piece commemorates the 45th anniversary of the end of the Cambodian genocide. Audio / Video here: https://youtu.be/YaDxQQVMMoU?si=qe2Zei6qu8kwRXrJ This piece is dedicated to the victims of the Cambodian genocide. My interest in war and genocide has brought me to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and the Unit 731 museum in Harbin, China. But I will remember Cambodia as a truly life-changing experience after revisiting the horrors at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge invaded Phnom Penh and won the Cambodia civil war. The Cambodian genocide, which lasted 3 years and 8 months, saw the systematic murder of between 2 to 3 million Cambodians. Intellectuals were immediately targeted for torture and execution - lawyers, doctors, teachers, musicians, scientists, engineers, etc. Ethnic minorities were also targeted. Money, private property, and religion were banned. In the first section, a bird stands alone in the killing field. The inverted melody of the folk song "Sarika Keo Euy" is presented. This famous tune sings the praise of the sarika keo - a common starling bird. Guitar shock chords (formed from tritone and perfect 4th) gradually morph during healing. In "Awakening", the bird takes flight as depicted by the shimmering effect on the flute. Now, there is hope for peace. The timbre changes with the guitar harmonics and flute bisbigliando effects. In "Congregating and Healing", the survivors congregate and pray for peace. 45 years after the end of the genocide, Cambodians continue to heal and rebuild their nation.