Soundings Theatre, Te Papa
February 7 | Reviewed by Mark Dryburgh

THE CONCERT was held in the Soundings theatre at Te Papa. This is a modern construction with large acoustic panels and discrete amplification. With a reserved introduction from a Chamber Music NZ representative, the audience appeared witness to something like a corporate political exchange. My desire for personal cultural exploration remained. Encompass is a new initiative from CMNZ to present quality non-western music; it’s a huge iceberg to be at the tip of.

This was a concert of traditional Korean music played by six of Korea’s best. A range of forms was presented: music of the court, folk music and opera, and shamanistic ritual. Sinawi is a musical form that accompanies shamanic rituals, it introduced the instrumental sounds. The gayageum (plucked strings), “flutes”, a drum and a harmonic wind instrument consisting of a pyramid of pipes extending from a bowl with mouthpiece – the saenghwang. Sinawi has a regular tempo for hypnotic dance though the musicians sat still on the floor. They were wearing traditional two piece outfits with no pockets and plain, light and natural colors. The music carried this simple and pure aesthetic sense, consisting of a drawn out melody played by the group with adorning figures improvised by the flutes and bending of strings on long notes. The effect is that each note comes into focus and then eddies into the next. I imagined scarves being tossed into the air. The two-sided drum provides the only lower register sound hit with the palm and the other side struck on the rim with a stick. The focus of the group is peacefully intense. The pace continues at the slow pace but eventually crescendos and changes mode. At this point Yi Ji-Young changes the position of the bridge pieces on the gayageum as she plays to arrive at the new tuning.

The second performance features gayageum solo. Sanjo form was developed for the gayageum around 1890 but was informed by ancient shamanic performance and folk music; accompanied by a two sided drum called the Janggo. The two sides represent yin-yan harmony.

Kim Woong-sik compliments sparse drum patterns with off-beat “ha” and low “nnn” vocalisations on the downbeats, effectively encouraging the momentum. The performance builds and builds. Yi Ji-Young reveals herself as a dynamic virtuoso. The gayageum lies across her lap, 20-or-so strings are bridged individually over the resonant chamber. Notes are struck in-sync with drum hits then bent on the non-sounding side of the bridge, the pitch is bent into melodies and vibrato. The rhythm is structured into sections and the gayageum improvised around these changes. Ji-Young reveals the possibilities, playing rapid patterns across strings resembling duelling banjos, or tremolo semi-quaver patterns. A very exciting performance.

Daeygeum is a large bamboo transverse flute with a membrane that produces a buzzing sound. It’s seven minute solo of court music was characterised by plenty of vibrato. Harmonic overtones of the bamboo add to the meditative quality of slow moving melody. Kim Jeong-seung wears entirely white and closes his eyes as he plays. The vibrato is provided by rocking the angle of the flute up and down.

Jeong-seung was then joined on stage by Park Chi-wan playing a piri – Korean oboe. Kim Jeong-seung is more lively playing the daeygeum moving his head with florid runs. The stable notes of melody are on the piri and daeygeum bends the pitch and oscillates against it. The harmonic interplay creates gestures of tension and release about single notes.

Park Chi-wan took stage on another double reed instrument called Taepyungso. It has a surprising range and thickness of tone for a piccolo-sized bamboo instrument, at times it sounds like a saxophone. The reed produces a greasy sound without clear resonance so facilitates even bending of the note like a kazoo.

This was followed by a duet of senghwang (mouth organ) and tanso (short flute). Tanso has a beautiful clear tone and softer in the low range. Playing the senghwang appears to be a complex exercise of finger placement, for every chord a new collection of pipes must be stopped. The sound is pleasant after the more abrasive reeded instruments.

You Mi-li performed two pieces of dramatic Korean opera. One told the story of a woman’s struggle to maintain traditional chastity in the face of a man’s offering. Her face was expressive and voice pushed to breaking with simulated emotion, and there was often a laugh in her voice. An engaging performer of apparently some popularity in Korea. Initially the Pansori form of opera was excluded to peasant classes but later became popular in wealthier classes for entertainment. You Mi-li would raise and spread her fan and snap it together as Kim Woong-sik hit the drum. It was reminiscent of a flamenco style, especially with percussive vocal interjections in that audiences can be encouraged to take part.

Traditional Korean culture is rooted in agriculture and related shamanic practices. Taoism and Buddhism are inter influenced.

Yongsanhoesang is the ritual to offer food to Buddha and reveal truth to unite consciousness and positively affect change. The musicians largely improvise but try to remain connected and play together. There was slight hesitance at first with five performers seeking cohesion; improvisation soon took shape and produced interesting results, dissonances passing unexpectedly and ornamental figures timed between the players. Kim Woong-sik is capable of lifting the group and feel of the music with his presence on percussion. At times his playing got my foot tapping.

With only one slot officially dedicated to world music on Concert FM and very few live concerts like this in Wellington, it’s great to see new initiative. The Korean Music Ensemble presented a programme that introduced a variety of styles and forms in a tight format that was consistently enjoyable to an unfamiliar audience.