Count ceremonial music of Korea
Aak
Korean pronunciation:
[a.ak]
is a
genre
of
Korean court music
. It is an imported form of the Chinese court music
yayue
,
[1]
and means "elegant music".
Aak
was performed almost exclusively in state sacrificial rites, and in the present day it is performed in certain Confucian ceremonies.
Background
[
edit
]
Aak
was brought to
Korea
in 1116 through a large gift of 428 musical instruments as well as 572 costumes and ritual dance objects from
China
, a gift to Emperor
Yejong of Goryeo
from
Emperor Huizong of Song
.
[1]
[2]
It remained very popular for a time (there were originally no fewer than 456 different melodies in use) before dying out. It was revived in 1430, based on a reconstruction of older
melodies
, and preserved in "Treatise on Ceremonial Music" (
Aak Po
), a chapter of the
Sejong
Annals.
[3]
Aak
is one of three types of
Korean court music
; the other two are
dangak
and
hyangak
.
Aak
is similar to
dangak
in that both have Chinese origins. All the instruments used in
aak
are derived from Chinese originals, and very few of these are used in other kinds of traditional Korean music.
[4]
Aak was first performed at the Royal Ancestral Shrine in the
Goryeo
period as ritual music of the court. The definition of
aak
later became narrowed to music for Confucian rituals, although
aak
in its broadest sense can still mean any kind of refined or elegant music and therefore can arguably encompass
dangak
and
hyangak
.
[5]
The music is now performed by members of the
Kungnip Kugagw?n National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts
in Seoul, Korea.
[4]
Performance
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]
The music is now highly specialized, and it is played only at certain ceremonies, in particular the
Seokjeon Daeje
held each spring and autumn at the
Munmyo
shrine in the ground of
Sungkyunkwan University
in
Seoul
to honour
Confucius
.
[6]
It may also be performed at special concerts.
There are two instrumental ensembles ? a "terrace" ensemble located on the porch of the main shrine, and a "courtyard" ensemble located near the main entrance in front of the main shrine building. The music performances or
munmyo jeryeak
may be accompanied by dances called
munmyo ilmu
.
[7]
There are two forms of dances; one a "civil" dance, the other a "military" dance, performed by 64 dancers in an 8x8 formation.
[4]
[7]
The modern repertoire of
aak
consists of just two different surviving melodies. Both the two surviving pieces have 32 notes that last around 4 minutes when performed, and one of the two is performed in a number of
transpositions
. The music is played very slowly. Each note is drawn out for around four seconds, with the wind instruments rising in pitch at the end of the note, giving it a distinctive character.
[4]
Players
[
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]
See also
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]
References
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External links
[
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]