Musica viva is actually a series of events organized by Bavarian Radio that offers a forum for contemporary compositions. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the German-Korean cultural agreement, however, musica viva presented a royal ritual ancestral ceremony from Korea at the weekend, which follows a Confucian tradition that has been cultivated for 600 years. The total work of art made up of music, song and dance, which 86 members of the National Gugak Center in Seoul performed in historical costumes in the Prince Regent Theater, was correspondingly old.
The transmission of the old music is due to the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, which lasted from 1392 to 1910. The king who died in 1450 was posthumously called “epochal ancestor”, in Korean: “Sejong”, because he improved agriculture for the benefit of his people, invented the Korean alphabet and devised a notation to document music in writing. In addition, he is credited with the development of a bamboo flute, according to which all other instruments in a musical performance are to be tuned.
An unusual sound
In the Jongmyo Jeryeak ancestral ceremony that is now being performed, these were old Korean plucked, bowed, percussion and wind instruments, some of which are only used in that traditional ceremony. For example, the wooden tiger lying on its stomach, whose head was first hit with a stick at the end of each piece and then stroked three times over the crest of the wave on its back. In addition to metal bells, suspended sound stones were also struck with a horn hammer. Above all, however, the interplay of the flutes and string instruments made of bamboo, with their microtonal changes in pitch, shaped that peculiar, constantly flowing sound, over which an equally varied song rose liturgically. In any case, for ears trained in Europe, such a sound pattern was so unusual that its calming, almost meditative effect also resonated with an exciting restlessness. And although that was not even intended, thanks to such exciting unrest, that old music did fit into a series of events like musica viva, which actually shows new paths in music with contemporary compositions.