A festival starting on Sept. 29 in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province, is showing how traditional pansori epic singing can create a cacophony of exciting notes and rhythms when it's mixed with sounds from around the world.

Under the theme of, “Sori (Sounds) From the World,” the Jeonju International Sori Festival brings together musicians from a total of 15 nations, all of them playing indigenous traditional musical instruments from their own countries.





The five-day festival will begin with an opening show that brings to the stage a harmony of sounds from Korea, China, Japan and the U.S., as well as of rarely heard sounds from Tibet, India and New Zealand. The multi-national team of musicians will send a message of unity with its music.

One of representative folk songs from Jeollabuk-do Province, "Saeya Saeya" (새야 새야), will embody the concepts of han (恨), a feeling of deep sorrow. The music played on the seven-stringed ajaeng, a transverse bamboo flute, called the daegeum, and the geomungo zither, will add more excitement and fun to the festival.

Five performances of pansori masterpieces -- “Simcheongga” (심청가), “Chunhyangga” (춘향가), “Suggungga” (수궁가), “Heungboga” (흥보가) and “Jeokbyeokga” (적벽가) -- will take the audience’s breath away, too.

The highlight of the festival is a series of collaborations between Korean and non-Korean musicians. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Poland, in particular, musicians from both countries will put on a performance, called “Chopin & Arirang.” Singers from Korea and Azerbaijan will sing together, too, while a Turkish team will join Korean musicians for a rendition of traditional sounds.

Another show will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-France diplomatic relations. French bands and singers, such as the band Lo’Jo with its history of some 30 years, Juan Carmona, a flamenco guitarist, and the well-known French jazz band Nant/Co, will all play the music of France.

Throughout each show, the stage will be illuminated with images of more than 200 photographs taken by famed Chinese photographer Sun Chengyi, as the images are projected onto the background walls through an interactive media façade.



“We tried to bring traditional tunes of Korea and sounds from the world together in one place and the outcome of our efforts is the Jeonju International Sori Festival. You will see and hear musical shows of great quality here,” said the executive director of the festival, Park Jae-cheon.

More information on the upcoming festival can be found at its official website.
http://www.sorifestival.com/



By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Jeonju International Sori Festival
jiae5853@korea.kr