The Labyrinth: Hwang Byung-Ki Gayageum Masterpiece Vol. 3

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This album features original pieces composed and performed in 1960's and 1970's. They were considered as one of the most progressive Korean contemporary music. Especially "The Labyrinth" performed with Hong Sin-Cha, an internationally acclaimed, avant-garde artist and choreographer, made a great impact on Korean music world.

Poongjuk - Korean Tea Ceremony Music

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This album features original solo pieces composed for tea ceremony played with various Korean traditional musical instruments such as Daegeum (large bamboo transverse flute), Danso (notched vertical bamboo flute), Tungso (notched end-blown vertical bamboo flue), Piri (Bamboo Oboe) and Sogeum (small bamboo transverse flute).

Dance - Trio and Quartet for Gayageum, Haegeum and Piri

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This album features original trio and quartet pieces composed by Park Bum-Hoon for representative Korean traditional musical instruments such as Gayageum (Korean traditional zither), Haegeum (Korean traditional two-stringed vertical fiddle) and Piri (Korean Bamboo Oboe).

Yeo-Chang Gagok by Yi Jun-Ah

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This album leads to the wonderful world of Gagok, a traditional Korean vocal music. Gagok is a representative vocal genre appreciated by the scholars of the Joseon period (1392-1910). It uses Sijo, traditional Korean poetry with fixed forms, for its texts. Accompaniments and interludes are played by a small ensemble of traditional Korean musical instruments. Performed since around 16th century, Gagok has been passed on until today, undergoing many changes and generating variations.

Gagok has two kinds of modes, the Gyemyeon mode (Gyemyeonjo) and the U mode (Ujo). The former and latter are each compared to the major and minor scale respectively. In addition to the two modes, Ban-U-Ban-Gye, which begins in the U mode but modulates to the Gyemyeon mode, is used. Also, there are 26 pieces for men and 15 for women.

The texts of the male songs (Nam-Chang) are generally masculine and animated. Also, unlike the female songs, male songs are sung only in natural voice and not in falsetto. The texts of the female songs (Yeo-Chang) are usually feminine and sad. Unlike male songs, the female songs use both natural voice and falsetto.

Daegeum (Korean Bamboo Flute) Sanjo

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This album presents the masterful performance of Daegeum, a Korean traditional large bamboo transverse wind instrument which has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre, by the master Lee Saeng-Kang. Daegeum dates back to 7th century Shilla dynasty. It is one of three transverse flutes, the large Daegeum, the medium-sized Junggeum, and the small Sogeum.



Daegeum has one blowing hole, six finger holes, and an extra hole covered with a thin membrane called Cheong (located between the blowing hole and finger holes). Cheong is a white resonant membrane cut from a reed's inner film which makes this instrument produce a distinctive buzzing sound that is refined and calm. There are two different types of Daegeum: Jeong-ak Daegeum (for classical and court music) and Sanjo Daegeum (for folk music). Of all Korean wind instruments, the Daegeum produces the softest and most graceful tone.

Gayageum (twelve-stringed Korean zither) Sanjo – Sung Gum-yeon Style

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Sanjo, literally meaning scattered melody, is a genre of traditional Korean folk music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the Janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum. Sanjo was established by the famous Gayageum player Kim Chang-jo at the end of the 19th century. He gained great renown and had tremendous influence on future generations. Many masters of Gayageum Sanjo followed Kim Changjo and Sanjo was also developed for other instruments such as Geomungo and Daeguem. Then all the important Korean melodic instruments have developed this genre. Sanjo became the most important genre of solo instrumental performance today.

Because Sanjo was not written down and had to be learned entirely by heart, many great players not only performed the melodies they learned from their teachers, but added new ones to those they inherited, to suit their own taste and mood, thus creating their own unique Sanjo. Although there were many Gayageum Sanjos that came about in this way, only about a dozen are extant.

Sung Gum-yeon style is outstanding of these. Its melodies are in themselves musical gems. They are at once radiant and beautiful, ad but sweet, fanciful but natural, soft but lively, sumptuous but refined melodies that embody the Korean ideal of feminine beauty. When Gayageum players hear this Sanjo, they compare it to the reflection of a splendid flower in a clear, cool mountain stream. If Sanjo is the flower of Korean music, Sung Gum-yeon Sanjo is the flower among flowers.

Shin Kwe-Dong Style Geomungo Sanjo by Kim Young-Jae

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This album presents the masterful performance of Geomungo, a six-stringed Korean bass zither plucked with a short bamboo rod which is held in the right hand, and producing majestic deep sounds, by the master Kim Young-Jae.

It is widely believed that Geomungo Sanjo was originated by Baek Nak-Jun at the end of Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Sanjo is a genre of traditional Korean folk music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the Janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum. The moment his Geomungo Sanjo had been known to the public, it was envied by many critics but soon its hiking popularity outshined them. It's due to Back Nak-Jun's brilliant musical creativity and Geomungo's great performing potentiality.

Though Geomungo has its remarkable superiority, it is very difficult to learn and play, and the more so to master the quintessence of Geomungo Sanjo. Kim Young-Jae was taught by Shin Kwe-Dong, who was one of three disciples of Baek Nak-Jun, to inherit Geomungo Sanjo for his lifetime and now has gained his position as a virtuoso. Kim Young-Jae inherits the orthodox of Shin Kwe-Dong and of Baek Nak-Jun in nature.

The characteristics of Shin Kwe-Dong style Geomungo Sanjo are that it generally comprises of daring, bold rhythm and beat. It presents Nonghyeon (various vibrations and hand movements exerted on the string) having the rhythm of intensity and the beats of affability, the graceful use of plectrum, evenly scaled resonance, and the solidly arranged structure throughout the whole Sanjo scale.

Seon (Zen) - Buddhist Meditation Music of Korea

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This is a truly unique album introducing Korean Buddhist music. This recording presents the beautiful harmony of Kim Young-Dong's performance and Buddhist ceremony of monastery members of SongGwang-Sa, one of the three greatest Buddhist temples of Korea, which has been known to have inherited Buddhist meditation training tradition in Korea.

The World of Danso (Vertical Bamboo Flute)

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This album presents the unique tune of Danso, a small, notched vertical bamboo flute mainly used in solo recitals, duet performances, and chamber music. Due to its mellifluous tone and clearest sound of all the wind instruments, it was favored as a recital instrument. In this album it performs with Saenghwang, a free reed mouth organ constructed from 17 slender bamboo pipes of various length, each with a metal free reed, mounted in a metal windchest, and Yanggeum, a dulcimer which has 14 quadruple courses of steel wires. Unlike other traditional Korean instruments (most of which have silk strings), the Yanggeum has metal strings and is played by striking the strings with a bamboo stick.

Piri (Korean Bamboo Oboe) Sanjo by Park Bum-Hoon

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This album presents the unique tune of Piri through the original Sanjo style established by Park Bum-Hoon. Sanjo is a genre of traditional Korean folk music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the Janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum. Piri is a Korean double reed bamboo oboe with eight finger holes, one in back for the thumb and seven in front, used in both the folk and classical court music. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe.

Classical Gayageum Music for Meditation 2 CDs

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This album is valuable recordings to appreciate the deep aesthetics of Korean classical music. Kim Chong-Ja's music is different from Western musical philosophy, which approaches music through acoustics; her music is rooted in the Confucian ideology of music that was used for personal and spiritual cultivation. The main principle implied in her music may be energy ("gi", or better known as "chi" in Chinese). She is interested in the flow of sound in slow music and the continuance of the tone produced by the plucked instruments. She always thinks of how the sound moves in accordance with universal energy when she plays the Gayageum (12-string Korean zither).

One of the most attractive elements in her Gayageum classical music is the elegant vibrato. The strings of her instrument have stronger tension than those of others. The strong tension creates an intense atmosphere and provides richer and more abundant timbre. This album perfectly represents the meditative character of Korean classical music.

Chimhyang-moo: Hwang ByungKi Gayageum Masterpiece Vol.1

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Chimhyang-moo breaks entirely new ground in the field of Korean music. Chimhyang means an Indian perfume and moo means dance, which gives its name to the work (dance in the perfume). In the work, Hwang surveys the world of Buddhist art in the Shilla period, where sensitivity to beauty was sublimated into religious exultation by the medium of music. Completely new techniques in performance are required for this work. Even the tuning is different, the basis being a scale used for a Buddihist chant. Arpeggios are employed which recall those of the ancient East Asian harp, the Konghu. The Janggu also plays an important part in this composition.

Synonymous in Korea with music pleasing to both the ear and the mind is the Gayagum music of Hwang Byung-Ki. He is a leading composer, performer, and scholar of Korean traditional music. He has toured widely around the world since 1964, performing both traditional pieces and his own compositions in major venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Paris’ Musee Guimet.
His best-known works feature the twelve-string zither, Gayageum, on which he is a renowned performer. Ranging in style from the evocation of traditional genres to avant-garde experimentation, a selection of these pieces is available on a series of five albums. He has also developed and taught his own unique version of Sanjo, the traditional extended solo music, for Gayageum.

Geomungo (Korean 5 String Zither) Solo

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This is Heo Yoon-Jeong's first solo album of Geomungo, a six-stringed Korean bass zither plucked with a short bamboo rod, which is held in the right hand, and produces majestic deep sounds. The pieces feature the unique sound of Geomungo and reveal composers' individual characters and make you release worries in the mundane world and listen to the sound inside your soul. All the elements of each piece create refined atmosphere; melodies, rhythms fully express unique features of Geomungo.

Korean Court Music by Jeongnong Akhoe

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This CD leads to the wonderful world of Jeong-ak, a traditional Korean classical music. From folk songs to music of the royal court, Korea has a rich variety of unique traditional music that deserves to claim a prominent place in world music. Korean court music preserved to date can be traced to the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. However, researches into the culture of the ancient Korean Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.-668 A.D., the period when the three ancient Korean kingdoms, Koguryo, Baekje and Silla, rivaled each other) indicate that many styles of court and folk music had already evolved to something like their present day form. Two pieces of music, included in this CD, have survived from this period: "Sujecheon" and "Dongdong."

Traditionally, Korean court music was instrumental and usually played for banquets using a wide variety of string, wind and percussion instruments. Sujecheon, a magnificent orchestral piece, is the most famous one of banquet music.

Korean classical music including court music, which was the music for the noble and upper class, has two distinct features. First, a leisurely tempo is a general feature of Korean classical music. In particular, most of the music that makes up the genre known as Jeong-ak has a slow tempo. The Korean musical sound can last as long as three seconds. Such a slow tempo gives music a distinctly calm, meditative character. The leisurely pace of some Korean music is due to the importance placed on breathing, with each beat being matched to the player's inhalation and exhalation. In this respect, Korean classical music differs markedly from Western music in which the beats occur at a tempo similar to the beating of the heart. In other words, Western music, based on a heart-beat tempo, tends (like the heart) to be active and progressive, whereas Korea's Jeong-ak genre of music, based on breathing, is sedate and contemplative.

Second, the tone color of Korean classical music in general is warm and soft. In fact, the timbre is so gentle that the fusion of tones and melodies does not result in discord. The gentle timbre of the music can be attributed to the fact that Korean instruments are made of nonmetallic substances. In the West, wind instruments such as the flute or clarinet are made of metal. In Korea, on the other hand, the wind instruments tend to be made of wood; even the stringed instruments have silk strings instead of wire. To this extent, Koreans like the warm and gentle feeling of natural materials.