Presenting Korean traditional music with a contemporary flavour, four musicians from South Korea will perform at Swargamandapam tomorrow, in a concert organised by InKo Centre in association with VR Chennai. Calling themselves The Soloists, the quartet has Yuh Chaehyun on gayageum, Lee Taekyung on haegeum, Kim Daeyoun on gagok and Han Solip on janggu and chulhyungeum, and got together a month ago especially for this show. Ahead of their performance, we caught up with the group to find out more about their brand of music and what fans of Korean music can look forward to in their show. Excerpts:
What are the unique aspects of traditional Korean music that people can know about before they get to listen or practise it?
It comprises various methods of making sounds and expressing aftersounds. Vibration and bending notes are two examples. You will be able to enjoy it if you pay attention to how each instrument and JeongGa express the sounds. However, one needn’t worry if you cannot trace these nuances. They just enjoy the music!
Tell us more about your upcoming performance in Chennai. What kind of music or songs can we expect from you?
Each of us will present our individual styles through solo songs. We have also composed ensemble pieces for this performance. You should not miss seeing how the 25-string gayageum, haegeum, cheolhyungeum, and JeongGa harmonise to make beautiful sounds.
Why the contemporary twist, though?
As we gathered a month ago, it was a challenge for us to create new music based on traditional styles. We wanted to show all of the beauty of Korean traditional music and at the same time making sure that the audience is not disconnected with our music because of the unfamiliarity of either the sound or instrumentation. So we focused on making traditional music a little lighter than its original form so that we could connect with our audience more effortlessly, effectively and meaningfully.
At Swargamandapam. September 28. 7 pm onwards. Entry free.
You can contact the writer at karan.pillai@newindianexpress.com and follow him on Twitter @karan_pillai