ALL
wind instruments
ICH Elements 9
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Gagok, lyric song cycles accompanied by an orchestra
Inscribed in 2010 (5.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity In Korean music, jeongga (translated as ‘right song’) refers to vocal music that falls under jeongak (translated as ‘right music’). Gagok, gasa, and sijo are examples of jeongga, which were sung by the members of the high society for character development. Unlike other forms of jeongga, gagok is sung to the accompaniment of orchestral instruments, such as geomungo (six-string zither), daegeum (large transverse bamboo flute), gayageum (twelve-string zither), and piri (small double-reed instrument). Gagok is highly esteemed for its musical and artistic perfection. Gagok complies with the definition of the intangible cultural heritage within the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, as ‘practices,representations, expressions, knowledge and skills… that communities, groups, and… individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage’. Gagok fits within the domain of ‘performing arts’. Traditional gagok is an original art form that has been sung by the Korean people for a long time, and is distinct from Western vocal music. Gagok is vocal music that was popular in the high society of the Joseon Dynasty (A.D. 1392-1897). Gagok is composed of twenty-six namchang, or songs for men, and fifteen yeochang, or songs for women. Thus, gagok features both masculine and feminine qualities. All notes in namchang are sung in geotsori, a strong voice resonating within the body. On the other hand, yeochang uses geotsori and soksori, a highpitched, thin voice. Gagok is composed in ujo, a key that is solemn and peaceful, or gyemyeonjo, which is melancholy. Gagok is played in either 16-beat or 10-beat rhythm. Accompaniment is typically comprised of orchestral instruments such as geomungo (six-string zither), gayageum (12-string zither), sepiri (small double-reed instrument), daegeum (transverse flute), haegeum (fiddle-like instrument), and janggu (hourglass drum). Yanggeum (hammered dulcimer) and danso (bamboo flute) are sometimes included in the accompaniment. Gagok has been preserved without transmutation for a long time, and it continues to be transmitted through the hands of master musicians. Gagok is intangible cultural heritage of great historical and artistic value.
South Korea 2010 -
Sompoton
The Sompoton is Sabah’s native musical instruments of the Kadazandusun. The instrument’s name closely derives from the word Miampot, which means in unison by blowing or sucking the mouthpiece. This mouth organ is the most fascinating of the Sabah native musical instruments. Sompoton consists of eight pieces of bamboo pipe inserted into a dried gourd, which are arranged in two layers of raft-like configuration. Seven of the bamboo pipes are named according to local terminology and they are lombohon, monongkol, suruk, baranat, randawi, tuntuduk and tinangga. One of the pipes has no sound, but merely balances the bundle. By blowing or sucking the gourd’s mouth, the player can produced a soft sweet harmonious sound. A small lamella of polod palm (like tiny bungkau) is inserted in the side of each sounding pipe near its base. The pipes are fitted into a hole on one side of the gourd and sealed with bees wax. The lamellae lie inside the gourd and provide the sound of the completed instrument. The pipes are bound with thin strands of rattan. While playing a sompoton, the player covers and uncovers the ends of three of the four shortest pipes with three fingers of his right hand and three small openings cut in the base of the front shortest pipe and front and back pipes of the longer raft with fingers of the left hand. The sompoton can be played as a solo instrument for personal entertainment or in groups to accompany dancing. It is popular among the Kadazandusun.
Malaysia -
Daegeum Jeongak (Classical Daegeum Solo Music)
National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Jeongak (literally “elegant orthodox music”) refers to music played at the Royal Palace, government offices, and local places where people of refined tastes gathered together. As one of the three bamboo instruments developed during the Silla Period (57 BC - 935 AD), i.e., daegeum (large-sized bamboo flute), junggeum (medium-sized bamboo flute), and sogeum (small-sized bamboo flute), Daegeum is the longest among the traditional transverse flutes of the country. It has the emboucher hole at the right end, a buzzing membrane made of inner skin of reed that gives it a special timber, and six holes. Since it makes a wider range of sound than other instruments, it is used as a leading solo instrument. Daegeum-played jeongak covers all kinds of formal ceremonial music, which are all ensembles. It is not known when they started to be played solo. The titles of the pieces of music played by daegeum include Cheongseong Jajinhanip, Pyeongjo Hoesang, and Jajinhanip. Melodies made by Daegeum Jeongak sound delicate but not light, soft but not feeble, and fragile but not shallow.
South Korea -
Daegeum Sanjo (Free-style Daegeum Solo Music)
National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Sanjo refers to the playing of a solo instrument to the accompaniment of a janggo (hourglass-shaped drum), moving from a slow to a fast rhythm, in four to six movements. Daegeum Sanjo is an instrumental folk music played solo on the daegeum (bamboo flute). Daegeum Sanjo is said to have been created by Park Jong-gi in the early 20th Century. Its musical features are embellishments designed to add rhythm and tempo to melodies, nongeum (embellishment sounds improvised by the performer), teul (forms), and extemporaneousness. Daegeum Sanjo has been handed down with its unique features intact. A skilled performance based on arrangements that aim to make it easier to listen to has the power to render both tension and joyousness.
South Korea
ICH Materials 9
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Sompoton
The Sompoton is Sabah’s native musical instruments of the Kadazandusun. The instrument’s name closely derives from the word Miampot, which means in unison by blowing or sucking the mouthpiece. This mouth organ is the most fascinating of the Sabah native musical instruments. Sompoton consists of eight pieces of bamboo pipe inserted into a dried gourd, which are arranged in two layers of raft-like configuration. Seven of the bamboo pipes are named according to local terminology and they are lombohon, monongkol, suruk, baranat, randawi, tuntuduk and tinangga. One of the pipes has no sound, but merely balances the bundle. By blowing or sucking the gourd’s mouth, the player can produced a soft sweet harmonious sound. A small lamella of polod palm (like tiny bungkau) is inserted in the side of each sounding pipe near its base. The pipes are fitted into a hole on one side of the gourd and sealed with bees wax. The lamellae lie inside the gourd and provide the sound of the completed instrument. The pipes are bound with thin strands of rattan. While playing a sompoton, the player covers and uncovers the ends of three of the four shortest pipes with three fingers of his right hand and three small openings cut in the base of the front shortest pipe and front and back pipes of the longer raft with fingers of the left hand. The sompoton can be played as a solo instrument for personal entertainment or in groups to accompany dancing. It is popular among the Kadazandusun.
Malaysia -
Fui (Flute)
The Fui is an ancestral musical instrument legacy made of bamboo, used and practiced by oxen and buffalo keepers to care for their oxen and buffalos. Caretaker of oxen and buffalo is a solitary job where playing the flute is the only way to get rid of loneliness. Keepers of buffalo and oxen play the flute to gather their livestock in one place before taking them back to the corral or water source. Oxen and buffalo know the flute sound of their keepers and follow it.\n\nThe Fui is also played in traditional ceremonies; Funeral of “Liurais” high personality in society. Playing with the rhythm of melancholy and loneliness to comfort the deceased’s family and to give hope.
Timor