P'ansori Extraordinaire

As anyone who has ever spent more than ten minutes with me knows... I love p'ansori. Many of you may also question my mental stability because of this obsession, but let me show you why I have allowed this art to consume the greater part of the last decade of my life...

First, a brief introduction to the genre. (Feel free to skip this part and go straight to the far more entertaining videos below.)

P’ansori is a solo narrative art form in which a singer, accompanied by a single drummer, relates a long and complex tale through song, spoken passages, and corresponding dramatic gestures. The genre was developed by folk musicians before the eighteenth century; over time its performance style evolved according to singer preferences, the tastes of the audience, influence of the literati elite, as well as social and performance environments.

The typical performance setting of contemporary p’ansori is minimal; neither stage props nor special costumes are used. The singer sits or stands on a straw mat, wears traditional Korean clothing, and uses only a folding fan to represent objects (i.e. a saw, as in the first video below), ideas (for example, power) or attributes (including bashfulness or sorrow). The fan may also be opened and closed to add to the aural landscape, or to emphasize certain aspects of the sung text. In addition, the drummer and audience add to the soundscape with their ch’uimsae, or words of encouragement: Ŏlssigu! (“way to go,” or “right on”), Chot’a! (“nice”), or Kŭlŏch’i! (“so it is”). This you will clearly see in the second video.

A p’ansori singer must portray and distinguish between a vast array of characters: male and female, young and old, common and elite, benevolent and reprobate. In order to relate musical and dramatic nuances effectively, a p’ansori singer must learn to produce a large number of characteristic tone qualities, even using their voice at times to imitate sounds in nature.

Okay, enough of that...

The following three videos were recording on April 22, 2008 at the Namsan Traditional Music Theater. This is considered a "full-length" performance -- telling the entire tale over a period of about two hours! The performer is my favorite... my dear friend and former teacher, Lee Ju-eun. I fully recognize that I am biased. But observing this concert as a scholar, not just a friend, I can assure you Ju-eun is one of the most accomplished singers alive today and is, (as the title of a paper I published about her and two other singers attests) "Destined for Greatness." 팔자 그래!

I won't take the time to tell you the whole story of the Song of Heungbo that she is singing, but in essence it is the story of a kind-hearted man, Heungbo, who has been treated poorly by his greedy and cruel older brother, and as a result is living a destitute existence with his wife and 11 children. One day Heungbo finds a swallow with a broken leg. He tends and cares for the swallow, who in return blesses him with three magical gourd seeds. After the gourds have grown to maturity, they are opened one by one with a large saw. Out of each pours rice, fine silks, gold and other treasures, making Heungbo the richest man in the country. His brother is terribly jealous and wants all of the gifts for himself, which Heungbo gladly shares.

The first video shows one of the gourds being opened.



I've included the second video because you can see well the role of the drummer in encouraging the singer and helping to move the music along.



The final video is the very last scene of the performance, in which, after having seen the splendid results of his gift, the swallow flies off into the distance. Keep in mind that she is still performing with this much power and energy after nearly two hours of singing!



Although the videos are not of a professional quality (I had to film them rather surreptitiously) I hope you can enjoy the splendor of the music and story as much as I!