아리랑 (Arirang) - Korean Folk Song


This is a performance of "Arirang," a traditional Korean folk song. It is performed by members of the Seo-Do Traditional Songs Institute, with the Korean National Classical Orchestra. The song is recognized for its cultural importance by both South Korea and North Korea. The female voices are most prominent, and the orchestra features both typical orchestral strings like violins, violas and cellos, as well as traditional Korean instruments, such as the Gayageum (a Korean zither), a Haegeum (a vertical bowed fiddle), a Piri (a cylindrical bamboo oboe), and many different sized bamboo flutes.

This is a concert performance for a large audience, and as the singing begins, the video shows many in the audience singing along with the performers on stage.  As "Arirang" is considered by many to be an unofficial national anthem, it can evoke strong emotion, and this is seen in the faces of those singing. In the context of this performance, both audience-performer interaction and inter-ensemble interaction affect the structure (Wade, 2013).  The orchestra is behind the singers, and the conductor has his back to the singers and audience; thus, the performance is kept to a traditional format, with a steady pulse so that everyone knows what to expect and can easily stay in time. Also, the singing is in unison, and that may have the effect of encouraging audience participation.

References
Wade, B.C. (2013). Thinking musically: Experiencing music, expressing culture. New York, NY: 
     Oxford University Press.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 11:41 AM

    Hi Lisa...

    I really enjoyed listening to the piece you selected this week for your blog. This piece is obviously one that is beloved by many of the people in the audience and is representative of a traditional song in the Korean culture. The mix of the traditional Korean instruments along with the string section that we normally hear in Western art music was very interesting and pleasant to listen to. The audience interaction with the song was very nice and illustrates the traditional cultural significance of the piece as well as the context. I agree with you that the unison singing of the performers makes it easier for audience members to join in if they would like and obviously many of them did just that. Thank you for sharing this piece.

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