A Korean Christmas concert

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Celena Davis 

Photos = Flickr of Korean Cultural Centre in the U.K. 

On the evening of Dec. 7, a London audience was treated to an early Christmas present, Korea-style. The evening saw the final concert in the six-part East Meets West concert series. Fitting of the season, this final concert brought with it the joy of the festive season. Over the course of 2016, the Korean Cultural Centre in the U.K. organized a series of concerts fusing Korean and Western music, be this through Korean performers performing Western pieces or combining traditional Korean instruments and Western ones.

The first half of the performance consisted of Korean songs performed by members of the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra. The instruments involved were the gayageum, the geomungo, the daegeum, the sogeum, the piri, the haegeum and the janggu. A total of four separate pieces were played in the first half, all of which were equally beautiful. This included a wonderful duet played on the gayageum and the hageum.

Kudos to the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra. They did a wonderful job and it's safe to say that their rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was the that best many audience members have ever heard.

Of course, no Korean music performance is complete without the song "Arirang." "Arirang" is a traditional folk song that is said to express the pain and grief of separation, and the song comes in many variations.

My favorite traditional Korean instrument is the gayageum. I first encountered  this beautiful instrument through the Korean TV show "Heartstrings" (넌 내게 반했어) (2011). It was played by the wonderful Park Shin Hye. I then fell for the sound of the gayageum again when I heard it played live in 2013 as a part of a performance by the National Korean Orchestra. The sound of the gayageum is beautiful, almost magical, filling you with a sort of inner peace when you hear it. That night was no exception. 

The second half of the performance contained Western musical pieces performed by a cellist, a string quartet, a tenor and a soprano. The performers in the second half had a tough act to follow and did brilliantly to match the magnificence of the opening performers.

This was a great night for music aficionados and amateurs alike.

Both halves of the performance exuded brilliance, so much so that when the performers left the stage, the audience applauded loudly, wanting an encore. Unfortunately, it was not to be, but we all left feeling very satisfied.

I have seen numerous traditional Korean music performances and they never disappoint. This one was no exception. I encourage you to grab a ticket to the next traditional Korean music performance near you. You won't be disappointed.

Copy of the program

Daeung Baek Monggeumpo Taryeong for Five Instruments

Byeong-gi Hwang  Soyeopsanbang for Guemungo solo

Daeseong Kim Darangswi for Haegeum solo

A Christmas Carol Collection I 

- It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

- Merry Christmas for Everyone

- We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Intermission

Tchaikovsky The Seasons for solo piano, op. 37a January and op.37b December

Tchaikovsky March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Trepark from Nutcracker Suite for String Quartet

Leroy Anderson  'Christmas Festival' arr. for Piano Quintet

A Christmas Collection II

-O Holy Night / Tenor

-Panis Angelicus / Soprano

-Adeste Fideles(Oh come all ye faithful)  / Tenor & Soprano

Accompanying Sijo:

Music is the universal language, whispering in the ears of many 

We heard the gayageum, hageum and the wonderful violin quartet 

Today, let's enjoy this rare fusion between East and West.

wisdom117@korea.kr

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