Quotations of Confabulation II: Kiromboi
for 37-reed Sheng, premiered by Li-Chin Li at Festa della Musica 2026 in Modena
Quotations of Confabulation II: Kiromboi reimagines the obsolete instrument of Sarawak's Bidayuh people through the breathing body of the Sheng. Made of bamboo and discarded snail shells, the kiromboi is associated with rain-calling rituals to end droughts and summoning frogs to the paddy field after the downpour. Rather than mourning a vanished sound, the work explores how sonic objects survive through confabulation, where memory, perception, and understanding continuously reshape what remains. The Sheng conjures a space where living and vanished bamboo traditions meet between remembering and invention. As gestures bloom and disperse like raindrops on sand, one instrument dreams another into existence once more. The collaboration is supported by Associazione SoundInk via Call for Scores 2026.
Performed by: Li-Chin Li – 37-reed Sheng