Traditional Music: Sounds In Harmony With Nature Koreana (seoul, Korea)

Music has played and continues to play a vital role in Korean society, providing a rich vein of material as a dynamic part of the nation's culture. Korean music's history reflects active engagement with surrounding cultures, as well as indigenous creativity and innovation. Korea is heir to one of the world's oldest repertoires of notated music. Over the past several hundred years, virtuosic instrumental genres based upon the music of shamanist rituals and agricultural ceremonies developed into highly sophisticated art forms. This book will examine the development of Korean traditional music, looking at what makes it unique, surveying its wide variety of genres, and reviewing its dramatic history as an art form. This work examines the unique characteristics of the Hangeul writing system and its impact on Korean society. The first chapter looks at why Hangeul is regarded by so many scholars as the worldʹs preeminent writing system. The second chapter looks at the structure of the alphabet, examining the linguistic and philosophical concepts that underlie the system. The third chapter explains the historical process by which Hangeul was invented, while the fourth chapter provides an in-depth look at King Sejong the Great, the monarch widely credited with the creation of the writing system. The fifth chapter canvasses the subsequent development of the alphabet over the ensuing centuries and its impact on Korean culture and society, while the sixth chapter looks at how Hangeul has helped promote the use of information technology in Korea. The final chapter looks at how Hangeul inspires Korean culture and arts, including genres such as fashion and dance One Step Closer To Nature -- Genres Of Korean Music -- Pansori -- Samulnori -- History Of Korean Music -- Musicians -- National Gugak Center. [writers, Robert Koehler, Byeon Ji-yeon ; Editor, Lee Jin-hyuk]. Compiled, Edited And Supplemented From Articles In Koreana, Vol. 8, No. 3, Autumn 1994, Vol. 12, No. 4, Winter 1998. The Content Of This Series Is Based On The Material Published In Koreana, The Korea Foundation's Full-color Quarterly Featuring In-depth Coverage Of Various Aspects Of Korea's Cultural Themes--cover Flap. 2011 Series--page 3 Of Cover. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [106]-107) And Discography (p. 108-109). The Korea Essentials series is a cooperative project between the Korea Foundation and Seoul Selection to furnish the international reader with insight and basic understanding into the arts and culture of Korea. The content of this series is based on material published in Koreana, the Korea Foundation's magazine. The series is compiled and edited by Seoul Selectionʹs editorial staff. -- Publisher description Contents 5 Introduction 7 Chapter One ONE STEP CLOSER TO NATURE 11 Chapter Two GENRES OF KOREAN MUSIC 21 Chapter Three PANSORI 49 Chapter Four SAMULNORI 63 Chapter Five HISTORY OF KOREAN MUSIC 75 Chapter Six MUSICIANS 83 Chapter Seven NATIONAL GUGAK CENTER 93 Information 107 Recommended Gugak Albums 109 Credits 113 This book explores Korean court music, which has an understated beauty and calmness, and folk music.