National Orchestra of Korea's Recompose
◆ Korean traditional music reinterpreted by four composers from four countries into four genres
◆ How can the Bukcheong Lion Dance Drama encountered with European melodies be heard and viewed?
◆ Unique attempt through an ensemble of a U.S. composer's Sinawi and Korean musician's jazz
◆ Choi Soo-yeoul, a true adventurer in the conducting sector, explores Korean music for orchestra.
"Recompose" is a concert containing the will of National Orchestra of Korea (NOK) to make Korean traditional music reborn so that contemporary people can feel empathy, given that NOK chose the word, RECOMPOSE, meaning "remake" or "remodel" as the name of a performance. Four foreign composers having different cultural backgrounds but well versed in Korean traditional music interpret the Korean music with their individual visions and demonstrate new music in Recompose, which is worthwhile to pay attention. Recompose tries to seek new aspects of our music that even we Koreans have not known through those foreign composers' imagination process.
Belgium's Baudouin de Jear is a composer deeply in love with Korean traditional music, considering that he issued a music album of Geomungo and Gayageum. He will demonstrate a new type of music with a short story, as if a lion joyfully played around on the stage, by associating our Bukcheong Lion Dance Drama with a lion symbolizing Belgium's royal family.
Michel Timpson of the U.S. has been the professor of Composition Department at Ewha Womans University since 2009. He has profound knowledge in Korean traditional music, considering that he views Korea objectively as a music scholar and writes works with subject matters like Gayageum, Janggu and Korean Traditional Poem Song. He is scheduled to exhibit Orchestral Sinawi, focused on improvisation, which is a common thing of Jazz and Korea's Sinawi, accompanied by Korea's top saxophonist, Lee Jung-suk.
Japan's Takada Midori is a musician and composer, who has been continuously exchanged with Korea through working with Korean dancers, Pansori singers and Samulnori players including a Gayaguem master, Seong Geum-ryun. She recomposed Sanjo-motived percussion Sanjo into a new type of chamber music composition, based on her various experiences in Korean traditional music and percussion. It is the program through which the energy of nature vested with Oriental bearings, Yin-Yang and Five elements can be felt.
Lastly, Taiwan's representative composer, Chih-Chun Lee, is currently professor of the Composition Department at Ewha Womans University and is a renowned composer to be included in the headword of English version Wikipedia. He having two times of experiences in working with Korean traditional music reinterprets Dae Poong Ryu, often used for dance accompaniment including a Buddhist dance, in his unique modern and experimental style.
The most noted young musician, Choi Soo-yeoul, was chosen for conducting of the concert that will present four different styles. Conductor, Choi, was selected for the first time as an Asian in the IEMA conductor sector, organized by German's Ensemble Modern in the 2010/2011 season, and was involved in music activities in Frankfurt. He is an able conductor, who was chosen as 10 young artists to lead the next generation by Monthly Auditorium, a music & performing arts magazine, in 2012. NOK decided that Choi Soo-yeoul, who repeatedly conducting experiments of various genres ranging from orthodox classical music and music experimental theater, would be the proper conductor for the concert. He is said to enormously expect his first conducting of Korean music for orchestra.
This concert can be defined as another process of finding self or ego through others' eyes. NOK's attempt to present a new alternative of Korean traditional music stands out by finding new aspects of our music that we did not notice before through four foreign composers' interpretations outside of the framework.
Traditional Music Viewed by Foreigners can be Answers to Korean Traditional Music
In June 2013, The National Orchestra of Korea entrusted work to recompose Korean traditional music to foreign composers from Belgium, the U.S. Taiwan and Japan, based on each cultural background. As a result, they chose quite amusing and specific music subject matters of our traditional music like Bukcheong Lion Dance Drama, Sinawi, Buddhist Dance Music (Dae Poong Ryu) and Sanjo. Peculiar music that has transformed four types of Korean traditional music with their own interpretation will be presented, after the four foreign musicians thoroughly examined the Korean traditional music.
According to cultural background, the feeling accepting music will be different, although the same music is encountered. The concert, starting from a daring question, "How Korean traditional music viewed by foreigners will turn out?" is going to approach Korean traditional music with a new method recomposing the Korean traditional music. We wish to listen to other answers to Korean traditional music that we have not known so far through those composers who have special connections and who are well versed in our Korean traditional music.
Rediscovery of Korean Classical Music by Four Foreign Composers
Composers from Belgium, the U.S., Japan and Taiwan reinterpret the Korean classical music! The world-renowned composer Baudouin de Jaer from Belgium, Michael Timpson from the U.S., Takada Midori from Japan and Chichun Lee from Taiwan rewrote the centuried traditional Korean music with their unique interpretation and style. As they are well versed not only in the western and contemporary music but also in the Korean classical music and musical instruments, they are expected to make an interpretation of traditional Korean music with Korean sentiments in a global way. Baudouin de Jaer who studied under contemporary musician Henri Pousseur and Frederic Rzewski will present a Korean orchestral work that displays the structure of Korean traditional music and characteristics of Korean traditional musical instruments. Michael Timpson will make a rhythmical Korean orchestral work by transforming Korean rhythm into jazz rhythm and comparing the improvisation between Korean sinawi music and jazz. Taiwanese composer Chichun Lee will offer oriental but modern sounds by researching various ranges of Korean traditional musical instruments and using different melodies of each instrument. The representative avant-garde percussionist and composer in Japan, Takada Midori, will present a dynamic Korean orchestral music with an overwhelming strength of sound and rhythm.
*The National Orchestra of Korea strives to find masterpiece Korean music through the Orchestral Series. Recompose allows Korean traditional music to be reinterpreted by foreign composers from United States and Taiwan and be transformed into a new contemporary masterpiece.