Muyong

This piece is written for string quartet, and is composed of two contrasting movements. Based on the idea of blending Western and non-Western musical elements, it was inspired by Korean traditional dance music. Non-standard instrumental techniques, folkloric tunes, and other elements contribute to its blended musical language. This piece is intended to comment on the globalization of contemporary music by exploring the Korean traditional musical cultures. I. The first movement was inspired by Korean court dance. In contrast with the general features of dance music, Korean court dance can be represented by the words such as “slow, calm, static, …” This movement imitates such non-rhythmic movement although the middle section leads the music to a climax with a faster tempo. Another feature of this movement is the sporadic use of dissonant harmonies. This piece uses dissonance to reproduce primitive sounds coming from “unrefined” instruments in Korean traditional music. II. While the first movement reflects dance in high culture, the second movement features more dance-like folk music. Textures that can be described as “fast, rhythmic, energetic, …” can easily be found in this movement while the tune strongly evokes melodies of Korean traditional folk dance. Duration: 7m