Musicians perform on a corner in the Bukchon Hanok Village in Jongno-gu District, central Seoul, on Sept. 12 during the Bukchon Music Festival.
Musical tunes both traditional and modern resonated across the Bukchon Hanok Village, a neighborhood home to numerous traditional Hanok homes in Jongno-gu District, central Seoul, last weekend on Sept 12 and 13.
The melodies emanating from Hanok homes and alleys alike stopped passersby in their tracks as they strained to hear more of the music during the Bukchon Music Festival 2015. Under the theme of “Stories of Love to be Told in Bukchon,” a variety of musical genres, including traditional Korean music, jazz, classical and indie were all performed over the two-day festival.
A piano was placed in the yard of one Hanok home, and the hall at the nearby Constitutional Court of Korea was turned into a jazz club. Alleys lined with cafés, galleries and craft workshops were transformed into concert venues.
Bukch Bae Yeon-hyeong, a gramophone collector, plays traditional Korean songs and old pop songs through one of his vintage record players in a Hanok home.
At one Hanok home, seven singers played traditional pansori narrative songs accompanied by traditional musical instruments. They also sang both jeongga (전가, 正歌) songs, a genre of traditional Korean vocal music historically enjoyed by Joseon scholars, the seonbi, and minyo (민요, 民謠) songs, too, a style of folk music.
In another alley, rare musical pieces were ringing out through a gramophone, some of them sung by famous Korean song masters and old pop singers.
Besides the traditional sounds, there were collaborations based on mixes of traditional and modern music, too, and between both Korean and non-Korean musicians.
The Hauz Khas Connection, a band consisting of Korean and Indian musicians, showcased what happens when Korean and Indian music meets.
The group Project Shakespeare sang parts of some Shakespeare plays based on madrigals, a form of vocal chamber music that originated in Italy during the Renaissance.
Latin American jazz came to life, too, as the Souplus Jazz Quintet and Sina & Nanasai, both jazz bands based in Latin America, played the best pieces from their repertoires.
The Bukchon Music Festival features not only traditional Korean music but also other genres of music of which people have rarely heard.
“This festival marks its fourth run this year. People witness here the way in which the world’s music -- jazz, classical and indie music – mingles with Korean music,” said an official from the Soorim Cultural Foundation, the host of the festival. “There are numerous attempts unfolding during the event, attempts at breaking boundaries between tradition and modernity and between musical genres.”
Musicians from both home and abroad present their music during the two-day Bukchon Music Festival on Sept. 12 and 13.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Soorim Cultural Foundation
jiae5853@korea.kr
