Newly-composed samulnori pieces and more stuff

[SiEd]

If anyone here is a fan of samulnori (like myself), these clips should be of interest:

A new composition for samulnori instrumentation called Abakor (I know, it's not a Korean name; it's the name of a Ghanaian rhythm, actually) performed by the University of British Columbia Samulnori ensemble. Moreover, the composer of this piece is a good friend of mine, Balinese (!) master composer and musician I Wayan Sudirana (Pak Sudi for short), the gentleman playing the 꽹과리 at audience right.

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D863uF_StTI

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zss_8l_cZpo

Pak Sudi apparently has recently developed a keen interest in Korean music, as one of his Balinese gamelan compositions, "Binari" (also the title of the famous Samulnori initial blessing piece), shows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL1o6gRoNl4

[James]

okay... hmm, when I read 'master composer and musician' I thought about beautiful melodies and chords till I clicked a link and boy was I wrong. Oh well, at least now I know what 사물놀이 is.

[SiEd]

okay... hmm, when I read 'master composer and musician' I thought about beautiful melodies and chords till I clicked a link and boy was I wrong. Oh well, at least now I know what 사물놀이 is.

Yeah, it's mostly percussion - if there was an additional 태평소 (Korean flared oboe/shawm) it might even be a bit more nerve-wracking for people. But, personally, I like the stuff - to each his/her own, right?

The Binari clip has more melody, btw.

[Bouks]

As a doumbek (Egyptian drum) player, I can appreciate the percussion. It's a bold piece for sure - would make a great historical drama sountrack

The Binari piece reminds me of the Indonesian shadow puppet show I saw at the Smithsonian when I was in college. More than the puppets, I was fascinated by the orchestra hidden in the back, so I sat to the side to see them more clearly. It was the first and only time I got to see a live Indonesian production.

p.s. Entirely off topic...I love Happy Slip, Ed! Thanks for passing those clips to me.

[SiEd]

p.s. Entirely off topic...I love Happy Slip, Ed! Thanks for passing those clips to me.

네, 천만에요.

I must confess - even though I am a fan of 사물놀이, my Korean music favorites are even more esoteric: sinawi (시나위) and ajaeng sanjo (아쟁 산조). I know, I'm a "traditional world music" nerd.

[Bouks]

I know how it is to be a traditional arts nerd.

Recently I learned about Korean "pansori" singing. (I don't know how to actually spell it in Korean.) It consists of a singer and an accompanying drummer. It's something you might like as well. (Hey KClass staff, can we have a culture class on this? Pretty please?)

[SiEd]

Recently I learned about Korean "pansori" singing. (I don't know how to actually spell it in Korean.) It consists of a singer and an accompanying drummer. It's something you might like as well. (Hey KClass staff, can we have a culture class on this? Pretty please?)

I LOVE pansori as well - I've got several CDs of the stuff.