A Musical Trip: Gugak
Pansori
What Makes Traditional Korean Music Unique?
Traditional Korean Music is known for its spontaneity with traditional music emphasizing emotion and expression. The emotional aspect of the music allows for an easy experience of religious ecstasy. The specific form of music we will look at is Pansori which demonstrates the spontaneity and expression of emotion mentioned previously. I chose this genre because of the emotional ties it has to Korean culture. I find this form of storytelling incredible and beautiful.What is Pansori?
Because this form of music is a literal telling of a story in song, it does not follow the flow of music we are used to in western culture. It is unpredictable which helps keep one active in listening. In my opinion the vocalists have a wailing sound which relays the emotion of the story they tell.
There are two examples of Pansori I will share. These are examples of modern day call backs to Pansori. While it is traditional it is still a style of music that is meaningful to Korean culture today.
You Know Who I Am
Jangbuga
Musical Elements
A traditional Pansori performance has five elements. jangdan (rhythm), jo (melody), buchimsae (combination of the story with the music), je (pansori school), and vocal production.
Sources:
~Evans, A. (2023, June 13). Pansori: The art of the Korean storytelling in music - silversea. Discover by Silversea. https://discover.silversea.com/destinations/asia/korean-pansori-storytelling-songs/#:~:text=This%20is%20pansori%E2%80%94%20South%20Korea,a%20two%2Dsided%20skin%20drum. (The art of the Korean storytelling in Music )
~ Farrugia, S. (n.d.). Spontaneous creativity. Classical Music Daily. https://www.classicalmusicdaily.com/2021/10/korean.htm#:~:text=The%20tempo%20distribution%20of%20traditional,up%20as%20a%20piece%20progresses. ( spontaneous creativity )
Great blog post! This is really beautiful music! The video on Pansori was really cool! I like that the name Pansori comes from 'a place to gather' and 'singing, song '. Music connects people no matter what genre, but there is something special about music that is made to share with others. Music, literature, and drama. Neato! I love that you can totally tell when the Sorikkun changes from character to character and back to narration. I also love that the Gosu gets to participate. So fun! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteGreat posting, I really liked that you picked a specific genre of Korean music by picking Pansori. It's extremely different compared to western music since it's goal is to tell a story and doesn't follow a traditionally western rhythm pattern, but still very beautiful and engaging.
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