‘Yeouya Yeouya’ Meets Piano: Reborn Folk Chamber Music
Creatrip Team
22 days ago
A new chamber music program, “Reborn Folk” (어제의 민요, 오늘의 초상), will premiere on September 6 at Seoul’s Dream Forest Art Center. Piano ensemble Piano On presents seven composers’ arrangements of familiar Korean folk tunes like “Yeouya Yeouya,” “Saeya Saeya,” and “Gangwon-do Arirang,” combining piano with traditional Korean instruments—saenghwang (mouth-blown free-reed instrument), piri (double-reed bamboo oboe), haegeum (two-stringed fiddle), gayageum (zither), janggu (hourglass drum), and more—to bridge traditional and contemporary, East and West. The program emphasizes premieres and revised premieres: new works include Government Ki’s variation on “Yeouya Yeouya” titled “Nongyo,” Hong Seung-gi’s saenghwang-and-piano “Saeya Saeya,” and Lee Young-jo’s “Meeting II for Piri and Piano.” Revised premieres include Kim Eun-hye’s tango-infused “Tango Pungnyu II” (based on a Buddhist chant) and Kang Chan’s lullaby-based “Aegigudeok Heunggeuneun Sori” (Jeju lullaby). Returning pieces include Shin Dong-il’s “Korean Folk Suite” and Lee Byung-wook’s “Our Songs Fantasia” featuring guitar, haegeum, and janggu. Piano On, founded in 2005 by Professor Lee Hye-kyung of Chung-Ang University, has promoted over 200 Korean contemporary works; this concert features pianists Yang Su-ah, Lee Hye-kyung, Yu Ji-hyun, and folk vocalist Jo Yoon-young with other gugak (traditional Korean music) players.
