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- A performance guide: new cello compositions by Serra Miyeun Hwang. Son, Eunkyung https://iro.uiowa.edu/discovery/delivery/01IOWA_INST:ResearchRepository/12730566900002771?l#13730788900002771 Son. (2017). A performance guide: new cello compositions by Serra Miyeun Hwang [University of Iowa]. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.0cefn3fi https://iro.uiowa.edu Free to read and download Copyright © 2017 Eunkyung Son Downloaded on 2022/06/19 00:40:13 -0500 -
A PERFORMANCE GUIDE: NEW CELLO COMPOSITIONS
BY SERRA MIYEUN HWANG
by
Eunkyung Son
An essay submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the
Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2017
Essay Supervisors: Associate Professor Anthony Arnone
Professor William LaRue Jones
Copyright by
EUNKYUNG SON
2017
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
____________________________
D.M.A. ESSAY
_________________
This is to certify that the D.M.A. essay of
Eunkyung Son
has been approved by the Examining Committee for
the essay requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in Music at the May 2017 graduation.
Essay Committee: ____________________________________________
Anthony Arnone, Essay Supervisor
____________________________________________
William LaRue Jones
____________________________________________
Katie Wolfe
____________________________________________
Christine Rutledge
____________________________________________
Trevor Harvey
To My Loving Family
and Serra Miyeun Hwang
ii
All musical examples and scores included in this essay—
Beckoning, Presence, and Hundredth View—
are used with the kind permission of Serra Miyeun Hwang.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am deeply grateful to my Essay committee members, Professors Arnone,
Jones, Wolfe, Rutledge, and Harvey for their continuous advice and support. This
essay would not have been possible without their motivation and encouragement.
I would like to express my special thanks to Serra Miyeun Hwang for letting
me write about her and her compositions, providing me with related resources, and
taking the time to review and correct my essay. I also thank her for giving me
permission to premiere the new composition, Hundredth View for Solo Cello.
I am very lucky to have a wonderful editor and good friend, Katheryn (Kery)
Lawson. Her passion, enthusiasm, and patience inspired me to keep writing my essay
and encouraged me to finish this work. We shared laughs and tears together during
this long process of writing and editing. I have learned the joy of writing through
working with her.
Lastly, I am very happy to acknowledge my family (Byung-kook Son, Ok-hee
Anna Cho, and Seok-kyu Son) and friends for their endless love and prayers as I finish
this fruitful journey in Iowa.
iv
PUBLIC ABSTRACT
Korean Canadian composer Serra Miyeun Hwang (1962-) has written three
compositions for cello- Beckoning, Presence, and Hundredth View- inspired by
Korean culture and traditional music. She infuses each piece with Korean elements,
including special rhythmic patterns, text, and tone color, which are influenced and
motivated by traditional Korean percussion music, religions, culture, combined with
techniques of Western instrumental performance. The purpose of this study is to
introduce Hwang’s music to other cellists and help them incorporate the historical
and cultural aspects of Korean traditional music to their performance practices. By
analyzing Hwang’s compositions in greater detail, this essay will provide cellists
practice guidelines to achieve the desired tone and interpretive gestures of new
cello repertoire.
This essay contains Hwang’s biography and her philosophy of music and a
description of the Korean influences on her music, including the genres of
traditional music in Korea, their cultural background, music in Shaman ceremonies,
Buddhist music, and p’ungmul (folk drumming and dance). There is also a
performance guide of Beckoning for Cello and two Korean Drums; Presence for
Soprano, Cello, and Piano; and Hundredth View for Solo Cello with my own
interpretation.
Learning Hwang’s pieces will bring cellists new experiences that are a
mixture of music, culture, thoughts, and methods from Western and Eastern
influences.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................. viii
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER I: SERRA MIYEUN HWANG ............................................................................................................. 6
1. Biography .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
2. Philosophy of Music ...................................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER II: KOREAN INFLUENCES .............................................................................................................. 14
1. Chang-dan: Types of Rhythmic Patterns in Korean Music .......................................................... 14
2. Major Genres of Traditional Music in South Korea ........................................................................ 17
CHAPTER III: PERFORMANCE GUIDE ........................................................................................................... 28
1. Beckoning for Cello and Korean Drums (2003) ............................................................................... 28
2. Presence for Soprano, Cello, and Piano (2004) ................................................................................ 42
3. Hundredth View for Solo Cello (2015) ................................................................................................. 59
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................... 71
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................................................... 72
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................................. 76
A. List of Serra Hwang’s Compositions .................................................................................................... 76
B. Three Poems by Yong-Un Han ................................................................................................................ 78
C. Types of Sigimsae in Western Notation .............................................................................................. 81
D. Serra Hwang, Hundredth View for Solo Cello (2015) .................................................................... 82
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Common chang-dan in Korean music. ......................................................................... 16
Table 2: Major genres of Korean music. ..................................................................................... 19
Table 3: The four-part narrative (storytelling) structure. ........................................................ 30
Table 4: Beckoning, sections by rhythmic patterns. .................................................................. 32
Table 5: Beckoning, pitch center by sections. ............................................................................. 35
Table 6: Presence, section by four-part narrative structure...................................................... 46
Table 7: Presence, pitch sets and pitch centers. ......................................................................... 49
Table 8: Presence, movement of pitch centers. .......................................................................... 50
Table 9: Expansion and micro-expansion of the pitch center B-natural.................................. 50
Table 10: Presence, text in Korean and English translation. ..................................................... 58
Table 11: Hundredth View form................................................................................................... 62
viiLIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Changgo (an hourglass-shaped drum). ...................................................................... 15
Figure 2: Performance of Korean drumming. ............................................................................ 27
Figure 3: Performance of Korean drumming. ............................................................................ 27
Figure 4: Core instruments for p’ungmul.................................................................................... 27
Figure 5: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, mm. 25-26. ......................................................................... 33
Figure 6: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, percussion part, mm. 86-87. ............................................. 33
Figure 7: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, mm. 120-124. ..................................................................... 34
Figure 8: Movement of pitch center on the 12-tone circle, by section in Beckoning .............. 35
Figure 9: Taeguk symbol on Korean puk. ................................................................................... 36
Figure 10: Taeguk-ki, the National Flag of the Republic of Korea. ........................................... 36
Figure 11: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, cello part, mm. 1-14......................................................... 37
Figure 12: Kayakeum (Korean 12-string board zither). ............................................................ 38
Figure 13: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, m. 47. ................................................................................ 38
Figure 14: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, cello part, mm. 58-65. ..................................................... 39
Figure 15: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, cello part, mm. 101-108. ................................................. 40
Figure 16: Serra Hwang, Beckoning, cello part, mm. 109-113. ................................................. 40
Figure 17: Serra Hwang, Presence, mm. 76-81. .......................................................................... 45
Figure 18: Serra Hwang, Presence, different meters and rhythmic patterns. .......................... 47
Figure 19: Serra Hwang, Presence, mm. 1-3 ............................................................................... 51
Figure 20: Serra Hwang, Presence, Score, mm. 9-15. ................................................................. 51
Figure 21: Serra Hwang, Presence, microtones (mm. 17-22).................................................... 53
Figure 22: Serra Hwang, Presence, mm. 35–36 (G), 40–42 (H), and 51–53 (I)........................ 54
Figure 23: Serra Hwang, Presence, the soprano and cello parts, mm. 65-68. .......................... 55
viiiFigure 24: Serra Hwang, Presence, mm. 65-66 and 74-75. ....................................................... 55
Figure 25: Hundredth View, types of nong-hyun effects. ........................................................... 61
Figure 26: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, mm. 1-60. ................................................................ 63
Figure 27: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, mm. 25-28. ............................................................. 64
Figure 28: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, mm. 20-23. ............................................................. 64
Figure 29: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, examples of various rhythmic patterns. .............. 65
Figure 30: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, tempo and meter changes in section B. ............... 66
Figure 31: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, various notes values and groupings of beat. ....... 67
Figure 32: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, examples of various pitch intervals. ..................... 68
Figure 33: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, mm. 159-162. ......................................................... 68
Figure 34: Serra Hwang, Hundredth View, m. 40 and mm. 166-168......................................... 69
ixINTRODUCTION
Traditional classical music has often been referred to as “Western art music.”
However, now that the world is becoming more globalized, Western classical music
has been influenced by different cultures. A History of Western Music states:
In twenty centuries, as a part of the heritage from Romanticism, composers were
expected to write music that was true to their national identity and drew on
regional traditions yet spoke to an international audience. For many composers,
their own national traditions had elements they could draw upon that help to make
their music individual, addressing simultaneously the desire for originality and
authentic national identity that had been growing since the nineteenth century.1
Since then, composers such as Mahler, Strauss, Debussy, Falla, Elgar, Janacek,
Sibelius, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Bartok, wrote music by contributing
“nationalistic” elements to the Western concert tradition. As we move into the
modern era, more musicians from non-western countries are becoming a big part of
Western classical music in performance, composition, and history than in the past.
With this trend, more East Asian composers are including their own folk and
traditional music in the Western classical style. Bright Sheng, Chinary Ung, Isang
Yun, Tan Dun, Toru Takemitsu are the most representative composers in the
twentieth century who are from East Asian countries. For example, Isang Yun is the
very first composer whose Korean influenced music was introduced to Europe in
the 1950s and early 60s.
1Donald J. Grout, A History of Western Music, 8 th ed., ed. Peter J. Burkholder and Claude V. Palisca
(New York: W.W. Norton, 2009), 785-86.
1Although Korea has shared cultures with other countries in East Asia such as
China, Mongolia, and Japan, the sound of Korean music is different from other East
Asian music. Korean music incorporates the culture, vocals, dances, religions, and
lifestyles of Korean people. Korean music expresses “joy, anger, sorrow, excitement”
(喜怒哀樂, hei-ro-ae-rak), and the spirit of Korean people based on “ideology of ritual
and music” (예악사상, ye-ak-sa-sang).2 Since Isang Yun’s exploration of European-
Korean musical hybridity, the number of composers using traditional Korean
musical materials in art music compositions has increased. For example, Yong-Ja Lee
(1931- ) combines elements of French, West African, Indonesian gamelan, and
traditional Korean music in her compositions, and Kyungsun Suh (1942- )
incorporates Western instruments and Korean traditional instruments in her
works.3
One lesser known composer, Serra Miyeun Hwang (1962-) is a musician from
a non-western country who blends South Korea’s culture and art forms using
Western instruments and compositional forms in her music. Hwang uses Korean
traditional rhythms that are “the unifying element that provides energy, stability
and unity to the composition.”4
The focus of this study is to introduce the music of Hwang through her cello
compositions. In so doing, this study will assist in making her music better known
2 Heungsub Han, Traditional Korean Music: Its Genres and Aesthetics (Seoul, Korea: Korea Journal,
2007), 77.
3 Kyoungwha Cho, “Korean women's voice: The vocal music of Young-Ja Lee.” DMA diss.,(The
University of Memphis 2012)
4 Serra Hwang. “Program Note.” In Beckoning: New Music for Cello, Performed by Anthony Arnone
(Newtown, CT: MSR Classics, 2012), CD.
2and more accessible for other cellists to incorporate the historical and cultural
aspect of Korean traditional music in their performance practices. My study
investigates selected sources in both Korean and English relevant to Hwang’s cello
works. By analyzing Hwang’s compositions in greater detail, this essay will also
provide cellists with practice guidelines to help achieve the desired tone and
interpretive gesture of new cello repertoire.
Serra Miyeun Hwang, a Korean Canadian composer, was born and raised in
Seoul, Korea. She studied in the United States (University of California, University of
Michigan), and has lived in London and Korea, prior to presently residing in
Vancouver, Canada. As a result of living in many different places, she has struggled
with her own hybridized cultural identity and compositional voice and style. Her
rediscovery of South Korean folk drumming and dance (p’ungmul) during her
studies at Michigan was a turning point at which she reconnected with her home
Korean culture and folk music. Her multinational experiences make her music a
unique mixture of Eastern influences such as Korean folk music, Shaman
ceremonies (Shamanistic rituals), Buddhist liturgies, festive music representing
village life in rural areas in South Korea, and Western musical concepts including
written musical practices and Western instruments.5
In her music, Hwang uses driving rhythmic percussion sounds from
p’ungmul, a type of Korean performance tradition which includes percussion
5“Shamanistic rituals are performed primarily for "practical" purposes (healing, protection, solving
problems, bringing good fortune, avoiding misfortune) rather than "worship".
(Stephen Garrigues, “Shamanism in Korea,” Kyungpook National University, South Korea. November
28, 2016, http://shamanism.sgarrigues.net)
3ensemble music, dances, and theatrical acts (see chapter 2 for more details).
Ethnomusicologist Nathan Hesselink says, “P’ungmul was an integral component of
village life in Korea, serving as musical accompaniment in the often overlapping
contexts of labor, ritual, and entertainment.”6 P’ungmul is not just a type of music
but its rhythms are also included in dance, theatre, and religious ceremonies. Hwang
was inspired by the energy flow and rough timbre of p’ungmul rhythms and directly
uses or reconfigures them in her music. In particular, these traditional rhythmic
patterns are applied to Beckoning (2003) and Hundredth View (2015). Hwang also
uses Buddhist Chant and lines from poems by a Korean Buddhist monk, Yong-un
Han, as the text for one of her compositions, Presence for Soprano, Cello, and Piano
(2004).
I attended a class lead by Professor Hesselink at the University of British
Columbia in Korean folk drumming, and a final concert of the Korean folk drumming
ensemble. During my visit to Vancouver, I also contributed to a revision of Hwang’s
recent composition, Hundredth View for solo cello (2015). These experiences greatly
increased my understanding of Hwang’s music and especially to this new
composition. After meeting Hwang in Vancouver, we have communicated by email.
She has provided me with her resume, biography, program notes, recordings,
scores, and additional information.
Since Hwang's music presents elements of traditional Korean music, which
are rarely used in the Western classical music, cellists can employ various types of
6
Nathan Hesselink, P’ungmul: South Korean drumming and dance (Chicago: The University of
Chicago, 2006), 2.
4tone, gesture, and techniques in Hwang’s compositions.7 Studying Hwang’s life and
work more thoroughly and having basic background knowledge of traditional
music, culture, and religions of South Korea will be helpful for musicians to interpret
Hwang’s unique rhythms, sounds, timbre, and gestures.
This essay is organized into three chapters and a conclusion. Chapter 1
contains Serra Hwang’s biography and her philosophy of music. As there are few
sources about the composer and her music, Hwang has provided me with her
biography and materials such as scores and program notes. Chapter 2 describes the
Korean influences on her music, which includes the genres of traditional music in
Korea, its cultural background, music in Shamanist ceremonies, Buddhist music, and
p’ungmul (folk drumming and dance). The description of Korean influences provides
context for the history and religions of South Korea, as well as provenance, rhythms,
and forms in Korean folk drumming. This chapter will help cellists include proper
historical and cultural aspects to their performances of cello compositions by
Hwang. Chapter 3 begins with an introduction of the compositional background of
Beckoning for Cello and two Korean Drums; Presence for Soprano, Cello, and Piano;
and Hundredth View for Solo Cello, followed by my analysis of their structures, pitch
centers, rhythmic patterns, and textures. Lastly, a comprehensive conclusion will be
offered.
I have plans to give the world premiere of Hundredth View for solo cello on
Saturday, May 6th, 2017 at the Old Capitol Museum, the University of Iowa. The final
score of Hundredth View for Solo Cello is included in the Appendix.
7 A type of note ornamentation technique in Korean traditional performances.
5CHAPTER I: SERRA MIYEUN HWANG
Serra Miyeun Hwang’s compositions have been performed extensively
around the world in the Caribbean, England, Asia, Canada, South America, and the
United States. She has received many awards and won competitions including the
International League for Women Composer’s Search for New Music (1990), the
Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra’s New Direction Concerts Chamber Music
Competition (1991), and the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Composer’s
Platform Competition (1995). This chapter is based on resources including Hwang’s
resume and program notes that she provided me, and email correspondence.
1. Biography
Serra Miyeun Hwang was born in 1962 and raised in Seoul, South Korea. As
early as 4 or 5 years old, she remembers being fascinated with the sound of
instruments and music. When she listened to her cousin practicing piano for the
first time, she was mesmerized by its beauty. Although there was no structured
music training in her early childhood, Hwang, her two older sisters, and younger
brother often enjoyed singing and harmonizing together with her older sister’s
guitar accompaniment. Music became a central part of her entertainment from
early childhood.
For Hwang, school was very rigid, tough, and competitive, and there were
very few opportunities for creative activities. Music became a way to escape from
the pressure of school. Hwang’s fascination with music kept her searching for
interesting musical activities such as going to concerts and listening to the radio. At
6the age of 10, her father finally gave her a piano. That is when she started to dream
of being a musician someday. Her father was not sure music was the best career, but
she knew very clearly that the only thing she wanted to do was music.
When she was 11 (4th grade), she joined the Seoul Metropolitan Children’s
Choir, which marked the beginning of her formal musical training. She learned a
variety of music styles from all over the world including folk, art music, and even
some operettas for children. These choir activities gave her great joy in learning and
performing music.
At around the age of 16, Hwang began to think of a way to leave all the
academic pressures behind and study music in America. Two years later, she finally
was able to leave Korea for California. She took music theory and history classes at
Golden West College, California, and tried to find her specialization. Although she
played piano and sang, she was not interested in becoming a pianist or singer. As
she studied more music theory and history, she was introduced to composers such
as Schönberg, Berio, Ives, Druckman, and others and gradually gained insights that
increased her desire to compose music.
Hwang studied music composition with Edward Applebaum at the University
of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and graduated in 1986. She secured a
composition fellowship at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara,
California. She moved to Michigan to continue her education at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she received her Master of Arts in Music Composition
(1989) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Music Composition with a Minor in
7Ethnomusicology (1993) under William Albright, Leslie Bassett, Michael Daugherty,
and George B. Wilson.
Her interest in the music of other cultures inspired Hwang to minor in
Ethnomusicology while in Michigan. There, she met her husband Nathan Hesselink,
who was studying Ethnomusicology, specializing in Japanese music. Hesselink was
the child of American missionaries who lived in Japan for 30 years. His childhood
was spent in Japan and he had studies in cello performance beginning age 11
through his Bachelor of Music at Northwestern University. After earning a Master’s
degree at Michigan, Hesselink was introduced to Korean folk music while spending
time with Hwang’s family in Korea. He became enamored with its sound and
decided to change his field of study to Korean folk music.
While Hwang was studying at the University of Michigan, all composition
students had to take electronic music classes. As a result of taking these classes, she
gained more interest in learning new activities than composing music. Hwang also
became a member of a Javanese gamelan ensemble (1991-92) and attended a
summer workshop in electronic and computer music at Oberlin Conservatory of
Music in Oberlin, Ohio (1993).
In 1993, Hwang and Hesselink moved to London for Hesselink’s Ph.D. in
ethnomusicology, specializing in Korean music at the University of London’s School
of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). While in London, she joined the Korean folk
and Thai classical performance ensembles at the University of London (1994, 1996-
97). In 1995, as Hesselink was finishing his coursework, they moved to Jeonju City,
North Jeolla Province in South Korea, for Hesselink’s fieldwork. While he studied at
8the State Art Center for Traditional Music, Hwang taught at Jeonju University as a
visiting assistant professor of music.
After living one year in Korea and two years in London, Hwang and Hesselink
moved back to the United States, building their careers in Illinois. Hwang taught
theory and composition at Bradly University in Peoria (2000), Illinois Wesleyan
University in Bloomington (2001, 2004- 05), and at Illinois State University in
Normal (2001-2003). She also served as a member of the Board of Directors at
Heartland Philharmonic in Bloomington (2001-2003). In 2005, Hesselink got a job
offer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The location, with
large Asian communities, was an ideal place for them. Since relocating, Hwang has
raised a son while continuing her composing in Vancouver.
2. Philosophy of Music
As a Korean-Canadian composer who studied and lived in the United States,
Hwang expresses her cultural and ethnic identity through her work. With her
cultural background and inspiration from Korean traditional music, her works offer
unique timbres, rhythms, and melodies that are fresh to the ears of classical music
audiences. Hwang writes in her program note for Presence:
I am constantly inspired to cultivate and develop East-Asian values and aesthetics as
expressed through contemporary art music. The motivation behind this work was
an attempt to reconcile tradition with innovation. In the “multitude of positions any
form of contemporary music can take today in the wider cultural landscape,” I am
provoked to evoke or incorporate this Korean-ness as a process of re-evaluation and
subsequent deeper valuing of my Korean identity. The search for one’s voice,
musical or otherwise, is especially encouraged in the United States with its ongoing
efforts to understand and provide a safe haven for multiculturalism.8
8Serra Hwang, “Presence for Soprano, Cello, and Piano” (Program note, Illinois State University, March
3, 2004).
9In the late 1980s, as Hwang was introduced to different composers and styles
of music, she realized that she wanted to become a composer. During her study, like
other young composers living in this time period, finding her own style was the
most difficult and important challenge. Her primary goal was always searching for
ideas and inspiration to create something unique through her composition.
Studying at the University of Michigan was the most enriching experience for
Hwang. During those seven years, she learned compositional techniques and styles;
in addition, studying ethnomusicology opened her eyes and ears to the music of
different cultures. She experienced new soundscapes through the variety of school
music ensembles and visiting musicians from all over the world. Ironically, Hwang
was re-introduced to a style of Korean folk music by her non-Korean colleagues. In
the 1990s, the Korean traditional drumming quartet known as SamulNori was
gaining international recognition, and they toured the United States. Hwang’s fellow
student composers and ethnomusicologist friends were very much intrigued by this
new sound. Hwang also loved the sound of the driving rhythmic percussion in the
folk music she had heard as a child. This event was important for both Hwang and
her husband, and it became a chance for Hwang to reconnect with the music of her
culture and to start her own research into Korean folk music.
Most of her composition teachers encouraged her to explore the sounds of
Korea as compositional resources. Moreover, the real inspiration came when she
studied with Michael Daugherty. Two years before Hwang finished her DMA degree,
Daugherty came to the University of Michigan to teach composition. Daugherty was
writing music that reflected his own cultural background of jazz and American
10popular culture, and Hwang was excited to hear music with a distinctive personal
style. She loved the music of Takemitsu and Bartok for the same reasons, but seeing
her teacher pursuing a similar endeavor made it real and exciting.
In her last two years (1991-1993) at Michigan, Hwang spent more time
searching and listening to recordings of Korean folk music. Her second orchestral
work, Pinari (1997), a title borrowed from the name of the Korean folk ritual,
reflects the sound of Korean folk music. Hwang has composed more works that were
influenced by Korean traditional music including Beckoning, Presence, and
Hundredth View. These compositions will be discussed in chapter 3, and the list of
Hwang’s entire compositions can be found in the Appendix.
During her studies at Michigan, she realized the value of exploring and
understanding electronic music for 20th-century composers. As she composed
music for electronic music classes, she learned to appreciate using computer
software for writing certain kinds of music, such as that for movie trailers. Hwang
enjoyed the freedom to control music performances. Drawing from her new
interests, Hwang composed Study in White (2002), which was performed for the
“Women in Music III” concert series at Illinois State University. Her most recent
composition for electronic music is Setting #3, which was performed at the
Vancouver International Women in Film Festival in 2017.
After graduating, her life in London was an important time living the reality
as a working composer outside of academia. Hwang started to re-think the meaning
of music, music making, and the roles of the composer and audience. Quickly, she
realized how difficult it is for new music to gain the attention of audiences. She
11wanted to look outside of academia for musical inspiration and searched for what
music people actually enjoyed in the different places and cultures. Her skepticism
and frustration gave her a stronger desire to find the identity of her music and to
compose works in which everyone can participate. Hwang exposed herself to new
experiences and joined other musical activities such as Korean folk and Thai
classical performance ensembles at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies).
Through those experiences, Hwang began to educate herself as a percussionist
playing Korean drums.
While Hwang was teaching at Joenju University in Korea, she was
reintroduced to the Korean traditional culture of the countryside. In addition,
Hesselink’s field work and connections introduced her to Korean traditional music
performances and many master musicians. As Korean musicians adjust their
performance styles to fit Western concert culture, it is rare to see a fully staged
traditional performance. For example, a traditional performance of P’ungmul was
usually held outdoors in a venue such as a village square, and its length, depending
on the purpose of the performance, could be many hours long. Modern
performances of traditional Korean music are held indoors with smaller
instrumentation and shorter concert length because they remove the ritual
ceremonies and theatrical and dancing elements. Therefore, Jeonju City, a place of
cultural heritage for Korean traditional music, was a great place for Hwang to
receive a great deal of information. Jeonju is located at the seat of North Jeolla
Province and houses the North Jeolla Korean Traditional Performing Arts Center.
According to Hesselink’s research, the North Jeolla Province has 23 groups that
12actively perform P’ungmul, which shows the richness and variety of traditional
music genres.9 In addition, Jeolla Province is in the southwestern region of Korea
where a type of professional folk song, pansori, originated. Pansori is a storytelling
musical performance by a trained singer and a drum player. According to Inhwa So,
“Pansori is regarded to have originated from the Shamanist chants or the folk
entertainment in the Southwestern region of Korea in the 17th century.”10
Hwang describes life in Jeonju City as an amazingly rich time to learn and
experience traditional Korean religions, including Shamanism (a type of ethnic
religion), Confucianism, and Buddhism through music, dance, and art. These
experiences helped her find an answer for her musical identity. Since then, most of
her compositions have been directly or indirectly influenced by the flavor of Korean
folk music. She has attempted to find a well-assimilated style that reflects both
Korean folk music and Western art music. Although Hwang creates unique sounds in
her music, she continues to search for something new to enrich her ideas further.
Recently, she was asked to write fusion compositions as part of a community project
for Chinese and Western instruments in Vancouver (which has a large Chinese
community). Hwang has written one piece for viola and zheng (zither) and one piece
for piano and erhu (two-stringed bowed fiddle).
9Hesselink, P’ungmul, 13.
10Inhwa So, Theoretical Perspectives on Korean Traditional Music: An Introduction (Korean Music
Resources Series V) (Seoul, Korea: The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, 2002),
37.
13CHAPTER II: KOREAN INFLUENCES
Korean traditional music represents different types of rhythms and genres—
Shamanist music, Buddhist music, and p’ungmul. In order to gain a better
understanding of Hwang’s compositions for cello, I will include information
necessary to understand and analyze Hwang’s music.
1. Chang-dan: Types of Rhythmic Patterns in Korean Music
Chang-dan literally means long (chang) and short (dan) in Korean. It is the
term for repeated rhythmic patterns in Korean music that is determined by a set
tempo, length of time, meter, series of accents, and rhythmic content.11 In an
ensemble music setting, the player of chang-dan (a percussion player) has the most
significant role as “conductor”. In his book, Hesselink states: “Korean rhythmic
patterns are determined by rhythmic models consisting of a series of accented and
unaccented strokes or beats, often varying in metrical and repeat structure, use of
tempo, and phrase length (when applicable).”12 As chang-dan is commonly used for
all genres (see Table 1) of Korean traditional music, there are countless types and
variations. In accordance with Inhwa So’s book, Table 1 will discuss nine common
chang-dan for Korean traditional folk music with accompanying Western notation.13
These rhythms are often played on changgo, an hourglass-shaped drum which has
11 Hesselink, P’ungmul, 186.
12 Ibid, 189.
13 “Types of chang-dan: sangyeongsan of Samhyeon-yeongsanhoesang, sanyeongsan of Hyeonak-
yeongsanhoesang, seryeongsan, dodueri, taryeong, yangcheong dodeuri, chwita, daechwita, jeolhwa,
16-beat gagok, 10-beat gagok, gasa dodeuri, chegasa and yangyangga, sangbyeolgok, 5-beat sijo, 8-
beat sijo, jinyang-jo, jung-mori, jung-jung-mori, eon-mori, jajin-mori, hwi-mori and dan-mori,
eotjung-mori, gutgeori, and semachi.”(Inhwa So, 105-119.)
14two heads (see image- Figure 1). In general, the left head is struck with the bare
palm or with a wooden mallet, and the right head is struck with a thin bamboo stick.
Usually, the left hand plays strong beats to provide the down beats of each measure,
and the right hand plays weak beats to create rhythmic patterns.
Figure 1: Changgo (an hourglass-shaped drum).14
14
Picture taken from a final concert (April 6, 2016) of World Music Ensembles - Korean Drumming
class by Dr. Hesselink at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
15Table 1: Common chang-dan in Korean music.
(Top part: right hand, bottom part: left hand)
Name of Chang-dan Tempo Notation
(rhythmic patterns) (approximate)
Kut-guri
(굿거리) = 60-72
Do-duri
(도드리)
= 30
Se-machi
(세마치)
= 72-108
Ut-mori
(엇모리)
= 70-90
Ja-jin-mori
(자진모리)
= 90-144
Jung-mori
(중모리)
= 72-108
Jung-Jung-mori
(중중모리)
= 69-96
Jin-yang-jo
(진양조)
= 30-60
Hwu-mori
(휘모리)
=116-144
16In Table 1, these chang-dan are in basic form. The top part is played with the right
hand, and the bottom part is for the left hand. During performances, however,
musicians play variations of and shift between basic chang-dan. It is impossible to
write all of the variations because they are improvised as they are played. Even
though the patterns change, the rhythmic cycle is usually long and predominantly
within the triple meter.15 As mentioned earlier, Hwang uses these elements of
chang-dan and reconfigures them in her works, including Beckoning, which will be
discussed in Chapter III. Although the patterns vary by region, the idea of using
chang-dan is applied to almost all Korean traditional music genres to unify the
entire ensemble, control the rhythmic flow, and accompany singers.
2. Major Genres of Traditional Music in South Korea
Since 4000 B.C., Korean traditional music has been influenced by the local
politics, economy, society, and culture. John H. Koo writes: “As agricultural life
developed, so did music and dance associated with the seasonal religious festivals,
creating a new cultural heritage.”16 In Korea, music and religion are closely related.
Han Man-yong explains which religions have influenced Korean culture and music:
“The main religions which have ruled the minds of the Korean people and Korean
society in a significant way are Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and in the
twentieth century, Christianity.”17 It is difficult to separate religions and music in
Korea because they are influenced by and intertwined with each other. Table 2
15 Inhwa So, 122.
16 Koo, 327.
17 Man-Yong Hahn, “Religious Origins of Korean Music,” in Traditional Korean Music 1983, ed. The
Korean National Commission for UNESCO (Oregon, USA: Pace International Research, Inc, 1983), 24.
17briefly introduces each genre of Korean traditional music, its meaning, purposes,
and instrumentation. Hesselink classifies Korean traditional music into two
categories: kug-ak (Court Music or Classical Music) and min-sog-ak (folk music).18 In
addition, Inhwa So lists the major genres within kug-ak (A-ak, Hyang-ak , Dang-ak,
Chwita, Jeong-ak and Jeongga) and folk music (Shamanist music, Buddhist music,
Nong-ak, folk song, Pansori, Sanjo and Japga).19 All of the different genres of Korean
traditional music have been performed for many events such as rites, banquets,
entertainment, and farm work.
18 Nathan Hesselink, Contemporary Directions (CA: the University of California, 2001), 1.
19 So, 26-37.
18Table 2: Major genres of Korean music.
Categories Genre Meaning Purpose of use Performance style and
Instrumentation
Kug-ak A-ak Elegant music: Spring and Orchestral setting:
(Court (Confucian A symbol of a autumn Nearly 200 people with 46
Music) Shrine and universe with Confucian shrine kinds of instruments
ceremony music including and rituals including strings, winds,
music) instrumental brass, and sets of bells and
music, song and percussion.
dance (Percussion in C: pyun-jong,
pyun-kyung.)20
Hyang-ak Indigenous - Court sacrificial Orchestral setting:
music rituals 7 kinds of instruments –
(“native music”) - Court banquet geomungo, hyang-pipa,
and ceremonies gayakeum, dae-keum, so-
-Royal Ancestral kwan-ja, cho-juek, hayng-
Shrine piri.21
(Winds in E-flat: dae-keum,
piri)
Dang-ak Music of the Orchestral setting:
China, Dang 13 kinds of instruments-
(Tang) dynasty Banghyang, pak, kyobang-
go, walgeum, changgo,
dang-pipa, haekeum, a-
zheng, dae-zheng, dang-
juek, dang-piri, tung-so,
Taepyungso.22
(Winds in C: Dang-piri)
Chwita Music for - Marching Marching band setting:
(Military blowing and - Accompanying Total 50 instruments:
band music) beating the procession for 1-gong, 5-nagak, 5-nabal, 5-
king bara, 5-senap, 5-changgo,
5-piri, 5-haekeum.23
Jeong-ak and Authentic music, - Confucian Chamber music setting:
Jeongga music of the shrine Various combinations of
(Classical scholar-literati - Royal Ancestral winds, strings, and vocals.
Chamber shine rituals Often collaborate with
Music and - various court dances.
Songs) ceremonies
20 Pyun-jong (sets of bells with fixed pitch), pyun-kyung (sets of stone-chime bell with fixed pitch)
21 Guemungo (Korean 6 string zither), hyang-pipa (Korean pear-shape lute), gayakeum (12-string
zither), dae-keum (large bamboo flute), so-kwan-ja (small bamboo flute), cho-juek (leaf-flute), hyang-
piri (Large bamboo double-reed oboe).
22 Banghyang (Chinese chang), pak (drum), kyobang-go (Chinese drum), walgeum (moon guitar),
dang-pipa (Chinese lute), haekeum (A vertical fiddle with two silk strings), a-zheng (Korean bowed
string instrument), dae-zheng (Chinese 13-15 stringed zither), dang-juek (Chinese flute), dang-piri
(Chinese oboe), tung-so (Korean bamboo flute), Taepyungso (double reed trumpet).
23 nagak (a large seashell-shaped horn), nabal (a long straight brass horn), bara: (pair of large
cymbals made of copper), senap (double-reed brass trumpet), changgo(hourglass drum), piri
(double-reed cylindrical oboe with a bamboo body).
19Table 2 (continued).
Categories Genre Meaning Purpose of Performance style and
use Instrumentation
Min-sog-ak Religious Mu-ak Shaman Main instruments: puk,
(Folk Music (Shaman rituals changgo and gong.
music) music) Additional instruments:
hae-geum, pi-ri or pipe24
Buddhist - Yeombul: Jing, puk, and mok-tak to
Chant daily indoor accompany the chant. 25
-Yeombul services
-Hwacheong - Hwacheong:
- Bumpae spead
buddha’s
teaching
- Bumpae:
outdoor
special rites
Nong-ak Farmers’ music Ritual or Percussion ensembles
(P’ung-mul) entertainment Main instruments:
purpose in kkwaenggwari, jing, puk,
most villages and changgo.
Additional instruments:
nabal, tapyungso, and
sogo.26
Folk song (Min-yo) A simple song For ordinary No instrument
transmitted people to accompaniment
through enjoy
commoners with
their feelings,
customs, and
kindness
Pansori, Sanjo and - Pansori: Vulgar Entertainment Pansori: a singer and a
Japga songs drum (changgo)
(Folk Music and Songs (storytelling Sanjo: solo instrument
by professional trained music) Japga: vocal solo with
musicians) - Sanjo: solo no instrument
instrument accompaniment
music
- Japga:
professional folk
songs
24 Puk (drum), changgo (hourglass drum), hae-geum (stringed fiddle), pi-ri (flute). Additional
instruments are used depending on the performance styles by regions.
25
Jing (large gong), puk (round drum), mok-tak (wooden gong with a slit).
26
Nabal (long and straight brass horn), tapyungso (double reed wind instrument that looks like
trumpet), sogo (small double-headed hand-held drum).
202-1. Mu-ak: Music in Shaman Ritual
The music that is used for Shaman ceremonies in Korea is called Mu-ak.
Shamanism is one type of religion in South Korea.27 Donnalee Dox states,
“Shamanism refers to a category of spiritual-religious practices characterized by the
encounter between humans and spirits.”28 Hwang uses rhythmic patterns of a
particular Shamanic ceremony for the percussion parts of Beckoning.
The fundamental principle of Korean Shamanism is unifying and balancing
three elements: heaven, earth, and humans.29 In Korea, Shaman rites have been held
for well-being, peace and prosperity of individual homes and village people, or the
soul of a deceased.30 These Shaman ritual ceremonies are called kut, and they are
performed by mu-dang, female shamans. According to Kwon, “Scholars define kut as
large-scale ritual performance based on indigenous folk religious beliefs and
customs.”31 During a kut, a mu-dang wears bright colored dresses (often mixed with
red, white, yellow, blue, and green) and a special hat. The structure, style of music,
and dance performances for kut differ region to region but usually include music
(chant and instrumental parts), Shamanic dance, theatrical acts, and stunts. The
27 “Shamanism is a term, originally taken from a Russian word used to describe a phenomenon of the
religions of Siberia, that has now become established in international usage. It means a form of
culture that revolves around the central position of the Shaman, a religious expert who acts as an
intermediary between man in his environment and society and the forces and the spirits of the other
world...” (Mark K. Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, Encyclopedia of Global Religions, (Thousand
Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2012), 1158.)
28 Donnalee Dox, "Shamanism." Ecumenica 7, no. 1-2 (ATLA religion Database with ATLAS Serials,
EBSCOhost, 2014): 114-19.
29 Donna Lee Kwon, Music in Korea (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 85.
30 Po-Hyung Yi, “Performing Styles of Korean Traditional Music,” in Traditional Korean Music 1983, ed.
The Korean National Commission for UNESCO (Oregon, USA: Pace International Research, Inc, 1983),
100.
31 Kwon, 84.
21length of kut is also varied: some performances could be two or three days long. Koo
describes the performance of kut:
The Shaman ritual, which usually has twelve segments, begin with the songs calling
for gods to be present at the ritual. These are followed by songs that praise the
virtues and goodness of the gods and entertain them. After that, come the songs
which invoke the good wishes of the gods for reconciliation between the gods and
the host and his family. At the end, the song of farewell to the gods is sung.32
For those performances, rounded drum (puk), hourglass drum (changgo) and gong
are the main instruments. Stringed fiddle (hae-geum), flute (pi-ri) or pipe
instruments are added depending on the style of the composition by region. Drums
lead the performance ceremonies, and the most popular rhythmic pattern in
Shaman music is kut-guri chang-dan (see Table 1).33 In his book, Healing Rhythms,
Simon Mills lists many types of chang-dan in Shaman music performances. He also
writes, “Throughout Korea, mu-dang perform rituals to guide unhappy spirits to the
Buddhist paradise.”34 As Simon says, the influence of Shamanic music and dance on
other genres of music has been considerable. Especially in Korea, Buddhism and
Shamanism are very connected. Shamanism is influenced by Buddhism: for example,
yeombul, one Buddhist chant, is often used during kut. In Korea, Buddhism is open to
various beliefs and adopts elements of other religions, especially Shamanism.
Therefore, the purpose of Buddhist ceremonies is often the same as the basic
principle of Shamanism in Korea.
32 Koo, 336.
33 Ibid.
34 Simon Mills, Healing rhythms: The World of South Korea's East Coast Hereditary Shamans
(Aldershot, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007), 23.
222-2. Bumpae: A Chant of Buddhist Music
In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Buddhism was introduced to Korea, and it gave
the people in middle and lower class the opportunity to listen to some of the new
music and experience new kinds of musical performances other than kut (Shaman
ritual ceremonies). There are three genres of ritual chant in performances of
Buddhist music: yeombul, bumpae, and hwacheong. Yoembul (invocation) is the
chant which is performed with syllabic style songs, accompanied by a wooden gong
played by monks for daily services inside the temple. Bumpae is the chant which is
performed with melismatic songs by trained Buddhist musicians for special rites
outdoors. Hwacheong is the chant used to spread Buddha’s teaching effectively in
the Korean language.35 It is performed at the end of special ritual ceremonies to
spread Buddhism and make it more accessible to common people. Hwang uses
elements of bumpae in her composition, Presence, which will be discussed in the
following chapter.
Bumpae came from China in the 8th century. Bumpae is a monophonic chant
(traditional Korean hymns) sung with text from Buddhist sutra in ancient Chinese
and Indian languages. The original text syllables are hard to sing because they are
melismatic in style, with free rhythms at a very slow tempo. The chant is combined
with solo music, responsorial music between solo and chorus, and choral music. In
the article, “Buddhism and the Musical Cultures of Asia,” the difficulty of
understanding the text of bumpae is described:
35 Inhwa So, 35.
23Since the melody of each text syllable is greatly prolonged or filled with a series of
vocables, the meaning of the text in most cases becomes difficult to grasp. On a
macrostructural level, a pomp 'ae piece consists of a number of stock melodies, each
of which is given a tide, such as "bugle sound," "double phrase," or "frequent
phrase." These stock melodies serve as the main source of the numerous pomp 'ae
pieces and can be reshuffled, reordered, and transposed at the chanters'
discretion.36
Instruments such as jing (large gong), puk (round drum), and mok-tak (wooden
gong with a slit) accompany the chant.37 During bumpae, these percussion
instruments are used as signals for the beginning and the end of the chant to
indicate the changes between text lines and musical style. However, in p’ungmul,
percussion instruments are used to lead the performances.
2-3. P’ungmul: Traditional Folk Drumming and Dance
P’ungmul is a genre of percussion instrument ensembles used by farmers and
professional musical bands, which is often combined with kut. Scholars have been
searching for the origin of p’ungmul, and there are many theories claiming it
originated from communal labor teams, Shaman ritual ceremonies, military music,
or Buddhist chant. P’ung-mul is also called as nong-ak (farmers music in Korean),
which supports that it came from farming and laboring music. The performances are
related to agricultural life to encourage farmers as they plant, weed, and harvest.
However, p’ungmul was used for more than just farming. Some of the performances
include many kinds of kut in Shaman ceremonies and its theatrical act and dances to
drive away evil spirits. Hahn divides p’ungmul into four types according to the
occasion under which it is performed: p’an kut (entertainment oriented
36 Paul D. Greene, Keith Howard, Terry E. Miller, Phong T. Nguyen and Hwee-San Tan, "Buddhism and
the Musical Cultures of Asia: A Critical Literature Survey," in The World of Music, Vol. 44, No. 2, Body
and Ritual in Buddhist Musical Cultures (VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung, 2002) 135-175.
37 Koo, 335-6.
24performance), ture p’ungjang kut (communal labor performance), kollip kut
(fundraising performance), and makut (village ritual performance).38 Often,
p’ungmul performances are related to various military activities, and some
ensemble members wear a large hood-shaped hat similar to the Buddhist monks’.
Therefore, it is not simple to make a conclusion where p’ungmul originated. It is
perhaps influenced by all of these religious and cultural activities to develop into the
format we see now. Although the p’ungmul is music for percussion, Hwang applies
p’ungmul’s basic rhythms and rhythmic grooves to a string instrument through her
new composition, Hundredth View for Solo Cello.
On p’ungmul performances, Hesselink states, “The ultimate goal, then, is not
that of beautiful performance, as it is in an aesthetic perhaps more typical of the
Western concert hall, but rather the generation of energy and a common spirit
through the joint activity of all the participants.”39 P’ungmul is not just a music
performance; it is more like a festival activity for village people to gather to
celebrate, pray, and unite in rural areas. Hesselink describes the entire performance
of p’ungmul that he experienced from a tae-bo-rum (full moon) festival performance
in Chin-an County, North Jeolla province in South Korea, on March 5, 1996:
Eleven percussionist-clothed in the loose-fitting white cotton dress of the traditional
laborer, complemented by striped-sleeved vests and multicolored sashes-formed a
large semicircle around the group that had eagerly as assembled. The silence of the
countryside was then shattered by the deafening sound of gongs and drums,…After
a brief musical introduction, the ensemble began to move in single file along a
narrow path that wound its way through the as yet unplanted field. The crowd
followed in a similar manner,…As the performers took a short interval to readjust
their instruments and secure their spinning-tasseled hats,…Gongs and drums were
38 Man-Yong Hahn, “Religious Origins of Korean Music,” in Traditional Korean Music 1983, ed. The
Korean National Commission for UNESCO (Oregon, USA: Pace International Research, Inc, 1983), 25.
39 Hesselink, P’ungmul, 104.
25again sounded, and for the next two hours those who had convened danced and
drank to the accompaniment of rhythms in the light of the bonfire…40
The following images (Figures 2 and 3) are taken from a final performance of a
Korean Drumming class at the University of British Columbia on April 6, 2016. In
this processional performance, kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong),
changgo, and puk (round drum) were used, and performers walked in complex
formations intertwining and diverging under Dr. Hesselink’s lead.
Although the style of performance can be varied by region, it is performed
with mostly percussion instruments such as kkwaenggwari, jing, changgo, and puk.
(see Figure 4). Each instrument represents lightning (kkwaenggwari), wind (jing),
rain (changgo) and clouds (puk). Instruments like na-bal (long and straight brass
horn), tae-pyung-so (double reed wind instrument that looks like trumpet), sogo
(small double-headed hand-held drum) are added, depending on the performance.41
The rhythmic structure of p’ungmul is flexible and variable. Hesselink cited
Kinam Shin’s book illustrating how it is limitless to play all rhythmic patterns of
p’ungmul. 42 Kinam Shin writes how complicated it is to master all the rhythms of
p’ungmul: “If you play the rhythmic patterns of nong-ak kut [p’ungmul] without
leaving anything out, it is almost limitless…”43
40 Hesselink, P’ungmul, 2.
41 Hye-jin Song, A stool though Korean Music history (Seoul, Korea: Sam Jung Printing, 2000), 32.
42 Hesselink, 152.
43 Kinam Shin, What Do I Have To Do to Get a Single Smart Disciple before I Die? (Seoul, Korea: Ppuri
Kipun Namu, 1992), 32.
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