Korea's folk music tradition, with its generous use of bright rhythms
and melodies, offers a more energetic and capricious contrast to the
nation's collection of classical music works. Folk music represents the
soul and sound of traditional Korean villages with an eclectic array of
music forms including numerous folk songs, various forms of instrumental
pieces, pansori, and shaman ritual music. Some of the most prominent
pieces and folk music forms are as follows:
- Sanjo
- Sinawi
- Pansori
- Chapga
- Folk Songs
- Pungmulnori & Samullori
- Shaman Ritual Music
Featured Folk Music Piece:
Song of Chunhyang
Song of Chunhyang is the most popular
of the five remaining works of pansori, Korea's unique epic narrative
vocal form. There is an ancient legend associated with this pansori work
which tells of a small southern village called Namwon and a village
girl called Chunhyang. Apparently Chunhyang was quite ugly and
unpopular, often finding herself the object of scorn and menace. She is
eventually imprisoned and then executed under false charges. Soon after,
the village of Namwon falls into disarray. A number of magistrates die
under mysterious circumstances and the village suffers several years of
poor harvests. One village magistrate suspects that a curse has been
placed on the village by Chunhyang's angry spirit. To appease her, the
magistrate writes a tale of deceit and treachery, but also of love.
Chunhyang is described in beautiful terms and in the end marries the
most handsome lad of the village. This seemed to satisfy Chunhyang's
angry soul as Namwon then enjoyed great prosperity. The text used in
this pansori work "Song of Chunhyang" is this very text penned by the
village magistrate centuries ago. That's what the legend tells us.
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