The National Gugak Center on Sept. 12 presented Jongmyo Jeryeak at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's Grand Hall in the German capital. Shown here is a curtain call after the performance.
By Park Hye Ri
Photos = National Gugak Center
Jongmyo Jeryeak, a cultural heritage that has been handed down for around 600 years, has received rave reviews after its first performance in Berlin, Germany.
The National Gugak Center (NGC) on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. presented the music, which was invited to the Berlin Music Festival, at Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's Grand Hall.
Jongmyo Jeryeak comprises music and choreography performed during a memorial service for kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) at Seoul's Jongmyo Shrine, where their spirit tablets are placed. The tradition was registered in 1964 as National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1 and later included on the list of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The packed hall had some 1,700 spectators including Korean Ambassador to Germany Cho Hyun-ok, Petra Sigmund, director-general for Asia and the Pacific at the German Federal Foreign Office, ambassadors from other nations and reporters.
Yonhap News said that after a performance lasting an hour and 13 minutes, the audience stayed at their seats to applaud for 10 minutes. German conductor Jurgen Bruns, who watched the show at the hall, said, "It was unfamiliar but impressive."
Viva Pia Steigerwald from Bavarian Broadcasting in Munich added, "The NGC's performance was a great success."
Matthias Entres, an organizer of traditional Korean musical performances in Germany, hailed the show. "The performers were overwhelming beginning with their entrance. The repetitive musical structure allowed listeners to occupy the 'silence.' Unlike my prejudice that the choreography would interrupt the music, the dance was instead well harmonized with the melody and seemed like silent music," he said.
The Jongmyo Jeryeak performers on Sept. 12 give a curtain call at Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's Grand Hall in the German capital.
Co-organized by the NGC and the Korean Embassy and Korean Cultural Center in Berlin with two years of preparation, the performance was held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean-German Cultural Agreement.
The show was aired live worldwide after being chosen for the orchestra's online platform Digital Concert Hall (DCH). Among the Korean musicians, pianist Cho Seong-Jin's performance had been aired before but this was the first time for the performance of an Asian troupe to be broadcast live on DCH.
The performance will be streamed free until Sept. 19 for DCH members.
After Berlin, the NGC will continue to deliver the charm and emotion of Jongmyo Jeryeak in Hamburg on Sept. 23 at Elbphilharmonie Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Munich on Sept. 23 at Prinzregenten-Theater and Cologne on Sept. 26 at Cologne Philharmony.
This is a promotional poster for a Jongmyo Jeryeak performance by the National Gugak Center scheduled to be held in the four German cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne.
