Samul nori
Encyclopedia
Samul nori is a genre of traditional percussion music originating in Korea
. The word samul means "four objects" and nori means "play"; samul nori is performed with four traditional Korean musical instruments
:
The traditional Korean instruments are called pungmul
.
Samul nori has its roots in nong-ak (literally "farmers' music"), a Korean folk genre comprising music, acrobatics
, folk dance, and rituals, which was traditionally performed in rice
farming villages in order to ensure and to celebrate good harvests. Specifically, samul nori music derives from utdari pungmul (the gut, or shaman ceremony rhythm of the Gyeonggi-do
and Chungcheong
provinces of South Korea
), as well as the genres of Yeongnam
folk music and Honam
udo gut, combined with more contemporary improvisations, elaborations, and compositions.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/samul/samul.cfm?Subject=history Such nong-ak is steeped in traditional animism
and shamanism
, but also shows influences from Korean Buddhism
. While nong-ak often features the use of wind instruments, samul nori only features the aforementioned four percussion instruments.
Each of the four instruments represents a different weather condition: the janggu represents rain, the kkwaenggwari thunder, the jing the sounds of the wind, and the buk clouds. The idea of yin and yang
is also reflected in these instruments: the buk and janggu (leather) represent the sounds of the earth, while the jing and kkwaenggwari (metal) represent sounds of the heavens. Although generally performed indoors, as a staged genre, samul nori depicts the traditional Korean culture, an agricultural society rooted in the natural environment. Samul nori is characterized by strong, accented rhythms, vibrant body movements, and an energetic spirit.
Samul nori has gained international popularity, with many samul nori bands and camps worldwide. Since the 1980s in South Korea, there has been a marked increase in the amount of fusion music, combining samul nori and Western instruments. Samul nori is also extensively used in the Korean musical Nanta
.
The most famous samul nori ensemble is the internationally famous South Korean ensemble called SamulNori, which is credited for bringing the music from a rural folk genre to the contemporary stage. The group was established in February 1978 by janggu player and former Namsadang
star performer Kim Duk Soo (http://www.art.go.kr/vli_dir/vli_dir08_pop_detail.jsp?ar_vvm_cd_seq=8754), with the remaining original performers being Kim Young Bae (kkwaenggwari), Choi Tae Hyun (jing), and Lee Jong Dae (buk). Following Kim Young Bae's death in 1985, he was replaced by Choi Jong Sil, and Lee Kwang Soo replaced Lee Jong Dae on the buk.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/samul/samul.cfm?Subject=history The group has collaborated and recorded with a number of non-Korean ensembles, most notably in 1987 with the Red Sun jazz band, with one SamulNori/Red Sun CD selling 70,000 copies.http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/magazine/nations/0,8782,165862,00.htmlhttp://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200610/kt2006101117513511690.htm[] They have also performed (in August 2000 at the Earth Celebration International Arts Festival on Sado Island
in Japan
) with the Japanese taiko
group Kodo
.http://www.outdoorjapan.com/features/ojfeature-ec2000.html
About his choice to move from the more traditional outdoor performances to indoor venues, Kim Duk Soo states that at the time he established SamulNori, during the last years of the administration of former South Korean president
Park Chung Hee, Korean traditional music was associated with the student movement, and anyone playing such instruments outdoors could be arrested. Thus, he developed the current version of the genre, which is generally presented indoors, on concert hall stages.http://english.seoul.go.kr/today/infocus/interview/1236715_5099.php
In 1993, SamulNori expanded to include twenty performers, and changed its name to SamulNori Hanullim, Inc. ("Hanullim" meaning "big bang").
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. The word samul means "four objects" and nori means "play"; samul nori is performed with four traditional Korean musical instruments
Traditional Korean musical instruments
Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments.-String:Korean string instruments include those that are plucked, bowed, and struck...
:
- KkwaenggwariKkwaenggwariThe kkwaenggwari is a small flat gong used primarily in folk music of Korea. It is made of brass and is played with a hard stick. It produces a distinctively high-pitched, metallic tone that breaks into a cymbal-like crashing timbre when struck forcefully.It is particularly important in samul...
(a small gongGongA gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
) - JingJing (instrument)The jing is a large gong used in traditional Korean music, particularly in samul nori, pungmul, and daechwita. Usually made from brass, it is struck by a hammer that is layered with soft cloth to smoothen the texture of the sound produced. It is typically played at the onset of ceremonies and...
(a larger gong) - JangguJangguThe janggu or sometimes called seyogo is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin...
(an hourglass-shaped drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
) - BukBuk (drum)The buk is a traditional Korean drum. While the term buk is a native Korean word used as a generic term meaning "drum" , it is most often used to refer to a shallow barrel-shaped drum, with a round wooden body that is covered on both ends with animal skin...
(a barrel drumBarrel drumBarrel drums are a class of membranophone, or drum, characterized by a barrel-shape with a bulge in the middle. They are often one-headed and open at the bottom...
similar to the bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
)
The traditional Korean instruments are called pungmul
Pungmul
Pungmul is a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with tens of players, all in constant motion. Pungmul is rooted in the dure farming culture. It was originally played as part of farm work, on rural holidays, at other village...
.
Samul nori has its roots in nong-ak (literally "farmers' music"), a Korean folk genre comprising music, acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, folk dance, and rituals, which was traditionally performed in rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
farming villages in order to ensure and to celebrate good harvests. Specifically, samul nori music derives from utdari pungmul (the gut, or shaman ceremony rhythm of the Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...
and Chungcheong
Chungcheong
Chungcheong was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea...
provinces of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
), as well as the genres of Yeongnam
Yeongnam
Yeongnam is the name of a region that coincides with the former Gyeongsang Province in what is now South Korea....
folk music and Honam
Honam
Honam is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to North and South Jeolla Provinces....
udo gut, combined with more contemporary improvisations, elaborations, and compositions.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/samul/samul.cfm?Subject=history Such nong-ak is steeped in traditional animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
and shamanism
Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism, today known as Muism or sometimes Sinism , encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the Korean area...
, but also shows influences from Korean Buddhism
Korean Buddhism
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism. Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new...
. While nong-ak often features the use of wind instruments, samul nori only features the aforementioned four percussion instruments.
Each of the four instruments represents a different weather condition: the janggu represents rain, the kkwaenggwari thunder, the jing the sounds of the wind, and the buk clouds. The idea of yin and yang
Yin and yang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
is also reflected in these instruments: the buk and janggu (leather) represent the sounds of the earth, while the jing and kkwaenggwari (metal) represent sounds of the heavens. Although generally performed indoors, as a staged genre, samul nori depicts the traditional Korean culture, an agricultural society rooted in the natural environment. Samul nori is characterized by strong, accented rhythms, vibrant body movements, and an energetic spirit.
Samul nori has gained international popularity, with many samul nori bands and camps worldwide. Since the 1980s in South Korea, there has been a marked increase in the amount of fusion music, combining samul nori and Western instruments. Samul nori is also extensively used in the Korean musical Nanta
Nanta (musical)
Nanta is a popular South Korean musical. In English the show is also known as "Cookin". It premiered in October 1997 in Hoam Art Hall in Seoul.- Features :...
.
The most famous samul nori ensemble is the internationally famous South Korean ensemble called SamulNori, which is credited for bringing the music from a rural folk genre to the contemporary stage. The group was established in February 1978 by janggu player and former Namsadang
Namsadang
The namsadang is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus....
star performer Kim Duk Soo (http://www.art.go.kr/vli_dir/vli_dir08_pop_detail.jsp?ar_vvm_cd_seq=8754), with the remaining original performers being Kim Young Bae (kkwaenggwari), Choi Tae Hyun (jing), and Lee Jong Dae (buk). Following Kim Young Bae's death in 1985, he was replaced by Choi Jong Sil, and Lee Kwang Soo replaced Lee Jong Dae on the buk.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/samul/samul.cfm?Subject=history The group has collaborated and recorded with a number of non-Korean ensembles, most notably in 1987 with the Red Sun jazz band, with one SamulNori/Red Sun CD selling 70,000 copies.http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/magazine/nations/0,8782,165862,00.htmlhttp://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200610/kt2006101117513511690.htm[] They have also performed (in August 2000 at the Earth Celebration International Arts Festival on Sado Island
Sado, Niigata
is a city located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) with the Japanese taiko
Taiko
means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...
group Kodo
Kodo (taiko group)
is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad...
.http://www.outdoorjapan.com/features/ojfeature-ec2000.html
About his choice to move from the more traditional outdoor performances to indoor venues, Kim Duk Soo states that at the time he established SamulNori, during the last years of the administration of former South Korean president
President of South Korea
The President of the Republic of Korea is, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of the Republic of Korea...
Park Chung Hee, Korean traditional music was associated with the student movement, and anyone playing such instruments outdoors could be arrested. Thus, he developed the current version of the genre, which is generally presented indoors, on concert hall stages.http://english.seoul.go.kr/today/infocus/interview/1236715_5099.php
In 1993, SamulNori expanded to include twenty performers, and changed its name to SamulNori Hanullim, Inc. ("Hanullim" meaning "big bang").
External links
- Samullori - Official Seoul City Tourism
- Article about the history of samul nori
- Poongmul in the U.S.
- Information about Pungmul and Pungmul in the U.S.
- European samul nori website
- German samul nori website
- French samul nori website
- SamulNori artist page from Alliance Artist Management
- Interview with Kim Duk Soo about SamulNori