Without
a doubt, Korean pop culture has invaded the Philippines
as seen by the immense popularity of K-Pop music, Korean television series shown
locally and the proliferation of bootlegged Korean film DVD’s in flea markets
around the metro. Unfortunately, while I listen to a lot of music genres, K-Pop
isn’t really my cup of tea. I even find it hard to distinguish one boy group
from the other.
Thankfully,
the Korea Foundation and the Korean Cultural Center presented the Korean
Festival in ASEAN, an event aimed to showcase a different facet of Korean
culture beyond the mainstream. For three nights, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’
Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) became the venue where
Filipinos were treated to music and dance performances for free.
Night 1: Traditional & Fusion Korean Music
featuring Ensemble SINAWI
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| Ensemble SINAWI |
The
first night of performance featured the Ensemble SINAWI, a group that mixed the
traditional Korean folk music, shamanic chants with modern jazz elements. The
ensemble is composed of Hyunshik Shin (ajaeng),
Sera Ha (gayageum), Aram Lee (daegeum), Jinhyuck Kim (janggu), Songhee Jeong (piano) and Bonggeun Lee (vocals). My knowledge of traditional
Korean music is very limited so I came into the concert now knowing what to
expect. And I was blown away by the resulting sound brought about by the fusion
of the organic and earthy traditional instruments with the piano playing the
modern jazz chords and sequences.
Ensemble
SINAWI performed a handful of songs that were both traditional and modern. Pianist
Songhee Jeong provided useful background information before performing each
song. This was indeed very helpful since not only did it set the tone and the
mood, it also made people understand and appreciate the songs more.
One
of the highlights of the concert for me was when Sera Ha played the popular
Korean folk song Arirang with the gayageum. After stating the main theme,
she went on with numerous variations of the tune showing off her virtuosity and
also the range of the instrument. The ajaeng,
similar to the gayageum but much
lower in pitch was sometimes played with a bow by Hyunshik Shin. This instrument
served as the bass for the ensemble and it even sounded like a plucked double
bass during the jazzy pieces.
The daegeum, a large bamboo transverse flute
played by Aram Lee raised my curiosity. He sometimes shifted his blowing
technique, possibly overblowing it I guess, making the instrument sound as if
it was brass instead of a woodwind. This variation gave the group more colors
in its music. I’ve learned also that traditional Korean music is anchored
deeply by a strong sense of rhythm and Jinhyuck Kim showed mastery of rhythm
with the janggu. Lastly, I was very
impressed by Beonggeun Lee who was the vocalist of the group. His vocal range,
projection and expression all joined together, got through me
and stirred my emotions even though I had no idea what he was singing about.
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Songhee Jeong, Sera Ha, Grace Nono, Hyunshik Shin, Jinhyuck Kim, Aram Lee
and Beonggeun Lee |
Filipino
vocalist Grace Nono was the special guest performer of the night. She
collaborated with the group for two numbers and her vocal style meshed very
well with the music. I was told that they only got to rehearse together just a
few hours before the actual performance but they sounded like they’ve been
performing these numbers for quite some time.
Night 2: Classical Music featuring the Seoul Chamber Society
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| Seoul Chamber Society |
The
second performance of the festival happened the night after the first. And this
time, it featured classical music courtesy of the Seoul Chamber Society. Made
up of 30 members, the group that flew here to perform were 15 namely violinists
Sunhee Kim, Wonsoon Chung, Jeungeun Woo, Kyungmook Lim, Yookyung Min, violists
Hyesoon Yang, Sumin Seo, cellists Jihoon Kim, Sookjung Lee Haejune Park, double
bassist Changho Kim, oboist Jiwon Yoon, trumpeter Heechan Ahn, and pianists
Jihyun Cho and Nayoung Kim. In some of the pieces that had the entire or most
of the ensemble on stage, Jihoon Kim and Heechan Ahn assumed conducting duties.
The
programme prepared for the night consisted of chamber music not often performed
in here. Most of the music that were played were just excerpts or a movement or
two from pieces like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F major, K.370, Antonín Dvořák’s
Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Septet for Trumpet,
String Quintet and Piano, Op. 65 and the Invierno Porteño from Astor Piazzolla’s
Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas. Many of these excerpts made me want to listen to
the recording of the entire piece especially the Dvořák one.
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| Oboist Jiwon Yoon with the Seoul Chamber Society |
Several
musicians were given the spotlight as they were the featured soloist in their
respective numbers like oboist Jiwon Yoon during Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe
Concerto in D minor and Trumpeter Heechan Ahn during Giuseppe Torelli’s Trumpet
Concerto in D major and Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion. Violinist Yookyung Min
showed virtuosity, including those tricky left hand pizzicato with the
difficult Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 by Pablo Sarasate. The ensemble also performed
the mournful Last Spring, Op. 34 No. 2 by Edvard Grieg and the Romanian Folk
Dances by Béla Bartók. For their last piece, they played a very
recognizable piece of music which is very familiar to fans of K-Pop and Korean
films: I Believe by Hyungsuk Kim which is the theme from the film My Sassy
Girl. The audience gave the Seoul Chamber Society a great response that they
were obliged to give an encore which was Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe from
The Mission featuring oboist Jiwon Yoon once again.
I
was very pleased to see many unfamiliar faces whom I never see watching
classical music performances before. And I think that this Korean Festival did
a great job in enticing the public in watching something that they’ve never
seen before.
Night 3: Contemporary Dance featuring Eun-ju
Shin Dance Company & EDx2 Dance Company
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| The Eun-ju Shin Dance Company |
The
Korean Festival in ASEAN took a break for a couple of nights before resuming
for their final show showcasing contemporary dance that featured the Eun-ju Shin Dance Company and the EDx2 Dance Company. I think that the previous two
performances created a buzz and things really climaxed for this performance
night with people lining up at the CCP Little Theater about an hour and a half
before the show started. The final show had the two dance companies performing
alternately, giving the audience variety and a change of pace highlighting the
contrast between the two groups.
The Eun-ju
Shin Dance Company, headed by it’s artistic director and choreographer Eun-ju
Shin was traditional and I think very cerebral. There was seriousness,
refinement, drama and elegance in the movements exhibited by Eun-ju Shin and
the rest of her company that included dancers Eun-mi Cho, Na-yeong Kim, Geun-young
Kim, and Jeong-yee Jang. In two of their numbers, the dancers were joined by
musicians Snag-hun Kim, Chang-yun Choi, Sung-hoon Jung, and Jin-sam Hwan. The
musicians played a variety of percussion instruments and provided the rhythm
for the dancers. At one point during their final number, the festive rhythm
brought about by the drums really felt very similar to the Ati-atihan.
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| EDx2 Dance Company |
On
the other hand, the EDx2 Dance Company, headed by its artistic director In-soo
Lee was more hip and modern. There was definitely a lot more humor and
theatrics in their numbers. Their movement combined the looseness and free form
of hiphop with the sharpness seen in classically trained dancers. Compared to
other contemporary dances that I’ve seen before, their style and approach was
very accessible as it still has recognizable elements from other forms of dance
like hiphop, jazz, and even ballet.
As I’ve
said earlier, the final night was the most attended of all the Korean Festival in
ASEAN performances. And most of the audience members took the opportunity to
take photos of themselves with the dancers at the lobby during the meet and
greet after the performance. I can’t stress enough how nice it was for the
Korea Foundation and the Korean Cultural Center to offer this other side of
Korean culture which most people, including myself, is not really aware of.
Korean
Festival in ASEAN continues in August starting with the KF Lecture Series
tackling various topics related Korea intended
for Korea-related scholars and specialists, local journalists and the general
public happening on August 1, 2013 at
the University of the Philippines.
An exhibit of Korean contemporary print works will also be on view at the
Metropolitan Museum of Manila from August
1-23, 2013. This touring exhibit of the National Museum of Modern
and Contemporary Art Korea features a collection of print works that display
the advancement of printmaking in Korea,
as aligned with the development of print technology.
Thanks
to the Korean Cultural
Center for letting me have the
opportunity to cover the performances. And special thanks also to Missha Philippines
for the BB Creams that were given away during the event.
Text by RAd
Photos by the Korean Cultural Center
