Song Heung-rok송흥록 was a master pansori singer in the 1800s. He was so good at singing that he was nicknamed “The King of Songs.” But before his rise to fame, when he was brimming with youthful confidence after studying pansori for ten years, he was invited to sing at the Daegu provincial office. While all the guests were amazed by his talent, only one person, a gisaeng named Maengryeol맹렬, seemed disinterested. With his pride hurt, Song practiced relentlessly and finally reached the level of deugeum득음, the mastery of sound. Then he was reunited with Maengryeol, who was moved by his singing, and they ended up getting married. Both being headstrong, however, they reportedly had many arguments during their marriage. One time, Maengryeol left home after a big fight, but Song, being a master singer, persuaded her to come back with a song. His voice was so tender and loving that Maengryeol gave up and returned home. That song is still preserved as a part of “Heungtaryeong흥타령,” a japga song from the southern region. Here’s Ahn Sook-sun singing “Heungtaryeong.” 

Heungtaryeong/ Sung by Ahn Sook-sun

Sanjo산조 is a music style that emerged in the late Joseon era. It is an impromptu instrumental solo in which the musician can play a piece freely to his liking. A sanjo piece can be played in different beats, from the slow jinyangjo진양조 rhythm to the faster jungmori중모리 or jajinmori자진모리 beat. Gayageum sanjo came first, followed by sanjo pieces in other instruments. The first musician to play a daegeum대금 sanjo piece was Park Jong-gi박종기, who was born and raised in Jindo, Jeollanam-do Province in the late 1800s. He was a very loving son who went to great lengths to care for his sick mother. When she died, he went to her grave every day for three years to play her his daegeum. Graves tend to be located deep in the mountains, naturally attracting lots of birds. When Park started mimicking bird songs with his daegeum, it sounded so real that birds flew over to perch on his shoulders. Among the daegeum sanjo pieces played today, the Lee Saeng-gang이생강-style daegeum sanjo features many movements with bird song imitations. We will listen to the jajinmori movement today with Lee Saeng-gang at the daegeum and Lee Seong-jin at the janggu장구.

Lee Saeng-gang-style Daegeum Sanjo Jajinmori/ Daegeum by Lee Saeng-gang

Pansori may be a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and even foreigners come to Korea to learn the art of pansori, but pansori during the Joseon period was performed by clowns, who belonged to the lowest class of people. Yangban or noblemen might have enjoyed pansori performances, but they did not stoop so low as to sing pansori. But in the late 1700s, there was a nobleman’s son named Kwon Sam-deuk권삼득 who aspired to be a pansori singer. His family was so adamantly opposed to the idea that they decided to kill him before he brought more shame to the family name. Kwon Sam-deuk asked them to let him sing a pansori one more time before he died, and the family elders allowed him one last wish. His voice was so beautiful and sad that the family couldn’t bring themselves to kill him. Instead, they just kicked him out of the clan so that he could keep singing pansori as much as he liked. One of the sounds created by Kwon Sam-deuk is called kwonmaseongje권마성제, which is a sound that resembles the shouts of sedan chair carriers in the old days. This singing style is characterized by the boisterous, rhythmical vibe. The most well-known pansori aria that employs this singing style is the part in “Heungboga흥보가” in which the nasty Nolbo놀보 goes out in search of a swallow. When a pansori singer sings this aria, he often informs the audience that he is singing in the style of Kwon Sam-deuk. Let’s conclude this week’s Sounds of Korea with this aria from “Heungboga” sung by pansori master Park Dong-jin. 

Aria from pansori “Heungboga”/ Sung by Park Dong-jin