KOREAN MUSIC

a form of East Asian music derived initially from its indigenous peoples but influenced greatly by the Chinese and possibly by Mongolian invaders. By the 3rd century AD there were written references to both singing and dancing at agricultural festivals among the tribes of northwestern Korea. Shamanistic ritual music also was part of the area's history. Court music seems to have begun with Chinese importations, and the earliest instruments were borrowings. Other instruments were indigenous, including the taegum (a long transverse flute), the komun-go (a plucked six-string zither), the haegum (a two-stringed fiddle), and the kayagum (a 12-stringed board zither), and its sanjo variations. The kayagum, Korea's national instrument, is heard in both folk and classical Korean music and dance. Though the traditions of Chinese music were preserved under the guidance of the court master of music, Pak Yon (13781458), new Imperial shrine music and Confucian ritual music were emphasized during the reign of Sejong (141950), as were musical settings of epics written in the newly developed Korean alphabet. A Korean mensural system, showing time and values, was created in the late 15th century; it gave a clearer indication of rhythm and tempo than had the Chinese system that had been used. Thereafter, Korean musicians maintained a balance between native and Chinese traditions. Korean vocal music also has a long history. In one of the earliest forms, the kagok, a man and a woman sing 26 songs, each having five lines of varying length. The sijo is a classical three-line verse that is accompanied by the changgo (hourglass drum). In the kasa genre there are narrative songs that are accompanied by flute and drums, and in the p'ansori (an operatic folk genre), a small ensemble accompanies the performer's stylized dance. The most striking aspect of the sound of the p'ansori, and of most Korean folk music and teahouse songs, is the female voice quality and ornamentation that is reminiscent of flamenco Spanish traditions.