UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ A Study of a Modern Clarinet Work, Song in the Dusk I for Solo Clarinet by Geonyoung Lee: Focused on the Comparison with Sangryungsan (Korean Traditional Solo Piri Piece) through Musical Style and Performance Practice A Document Submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Research University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2006 by Haisun Lee B.A., Korea University, 1994 B.M., Korean National University of Arts, 1998 M.M., Korean National University of Arts, 2000 A.D., University of Cincinnati, 2004 Committee Chair: Prof. Richie Hawley ABSTRACT We are entering an age of globalization. All elements of the world are coming closer together, and this is no exception to the world of music. Traditional Eastern and Western music are distinctive and different in characteristic and style. However, composers have started to crossover these differences by exploring Eastern and Western musical aspects in their compositions. This crossover is observed in Korea today. Many Korean composers have incorporated the elements of Korean and Western tradition in their compositions through various methods. Today, this style of music is no longer perceived as a new musical trend. It is rather situating itself as a new genre of the twenty- first century in the history of Western music. The purpose of this document is to introduce a new clarinet work, Song in the Dusk I for solo clarinet, which incorporates the elements of Korean traditional music and Western music, and to demonstrate how the composer, Geonyoung Lee, have absorbed the musical elements of Sangryungsan (Korean traditional woodwind instrumental solo piece) in his composition, Song in the Dusk I, using his unique musical language. This document is organized into three parts. The first part provides a biography of Geonyoung Lee, brief background of the creation Song in the Dusk I, and influence of the Korean traditional music. The second part analyzes Song in the Dusk I, focusing on the comparative study with Sangryungsan through the musical style, such as melody, rhythm, form, mode, in order to demonstrate the evidence that Song in the Dusk I is based on Sangryungsan, and understand how Lee has attempted to make a his unique musical language in Song in the Dusk I from Sangryungsan. The third part compares with the piri 1 in Sangryungsan and the clarinet in Song in the Dusk I through performance practice via vibrato, registers ornamentation, tempi, and dynamics. The conclusion provides summarizing observation of this study and reviews how Geonyoung Lee approaches the fusion style of music of Korean and Western in Song in the Dusk I from Sangryungsan. 2 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to University of Cincinnati professors, Richie Hawley, Wonbin Yim, and Sandra Rivers for their assistance, and to Geonyoung Lee for allowing his Song in the Dusk I to be used in this study. Special thanks go to my teachers Ronald de Kant and Kwangho Oh, who respectively reside in the United States and Korea, for without their encouragement and support; I would never have been able to pursue my dream to study music. I would like to show my appreciation to my friend at the University of Cincinnati, Dale Kim, who most importantly pointed out numerous errors in my writing. I would also like to thank the help of my best friend, Soonbok Kee, who has supported me while studying at the University of Cincinnati. Lastly, I deeply appreciate and thank my family for their constant love and support throughout my graduate studies. Special thanks to my parents, Dr. Youngrok Lee and Myungsuk Jo, and my oldest brother, Dr. Sanghyun Lee, for their endless support and encouragement in my life. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………….7 2. SONG IN THE DUSK I …………………………………………………………10 Geonyoung Lee (b.1947) and his music …………………………………………12 Kwangho Oh (b.1947) ……………………………………………………….......13 Sangryungsan ……………………………………………………………………15 Influence of Korean traditional music……………………………..…………….16 3. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SANGRYUNGSAN AND SONG IN THE DUSK I THROUGH MUSICAL STYLE Melody …………………………………………………………………………..19 Rhythm………………………………………………………………………….. 25 Form ……………………………………………………………………………. 27 Mode …………………………………………………………………………….29 4. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE PIRI IN SANGRYUNGSAN AND THE CLARINET IN SONG IN THE DUSK I THROUGH PERFORMANCE PRACTICE Vibrato ………………………………………………………………………....32 Register ………………………………………………………………………...34 Ornamentation …………………………………………………………………35 Tempo ………………………………………………………………………….37 Dynamics ………………………………………………………………………39 5 5. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………….41 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………….44 APPENDIX A SCORE OF SONG IN THE DUSK I………………………….…...49 APPENDIX B SCORE OF SANGRYUNGSAN …………………………………..55 6 INTRODUCTION Ever since several Western composers were inspired by Eastern traditional cultures in the 1960s, many Korean composers began to write music in a new style which combined the elements of Korean traditional music and Western music. This new style of music has become the mainstream in the age of globalization. Today, this style of composition is no longer perceived as a new musical trend. It is rather situating itself as one of the significant musical genres of the twenty-first century in the history of Western music. When this new composition started to surface in Korea, it was mainly incorporated and explored exclusively by composers while performers were more concerned with imitating and modeling only Western music. However, the death of Isang Yun (1917–95) in the mid 1990s, the first internationally renowned modern Korean composer to express East-Asian philosophy and music through a Western musical idiom, brought about interests of this genre to new composers and performers. As a direct result of this interest, the Contemporary Musical Ensemble, Sori (sound), was founded in 2001. In addition, the inclusion of a contemporary work by a modern Korean composer in performers’ solo recitals became a major trend in Korean musical society. This shift of interest towards the genre has provided me with intellectual inspiration. Exploring the subject further, I have come across several intriguing modern clarinet works that merges traditional Korean and Western music. Among which, I am particularly interested in studying, Song in the Dusk I (1997) by Geonyoung Lee (b. 1947). 7 Numerous articles and publications regarding these types of compositions are easily accessible today. Most of these findings examine violin, flute, and piano pieces, focusing on the influence of Korean traditional music. Thus far however, there has been no comparative study between Korean traditional music and a contemporary clarinet work by a Korean composer. Also no approaches have been made to address the performance practice issues of piri, and clarinet. Such comparison study is what I aim to accomplish with Geonyoung Lee’s Song in the Dusk I and Sangryungsan (Korean traditional solo piri piece) The purpose of this study is to introduce the new clarinet work, which combines the elements of Korean traditional music and Western music. I will examine how the composer, Geonyoung Lee, incorporated the materials of Korean and Western tradition and, attempted to make new Korean musical language, through the comparative study of Song in the Dusk I and Sangryungsan. This document will be organized into three parts. The brief background of the creation of Song in the Dusk I will be discussed in the first part. I’ll provide the brief biographies of Geonyoung Lee and his colleague, Kwangho Oh, and shortly mention about Sangryungsan. Also, I’ll consider the general influence of Korean traditional music into Song in the Dusk I. The second part will compare each piece’s musical style, such as melody, rhythm, form, rhythm. The focus of the second part is to explore how Geonyoung Lee recreated his unique style in Song the Dusk I, using traditional musical elements of Sangryungsan. I’ll consider the aspect of philosophy and aesthetic of Korean traditional Music. The third part will compare the piri in Sanryungsan and the clarinet in 8 Song in the Dusk I through the performance practices via vibrato, registers, ornamentation, tempi, and dynamics. 9 2. SONG IN THE DUSK I Today, Western-trained Korean composers have written a number of the clarinet works which combine the elements of Korean traditional and Western music. As the clarinet is one of the most popular western woodwind instruments, its wide compass and rich timbre provide broad expression to absorb Korean elements in the Western manner. The tone quality in the clarinet’s low and high registers is a great way to fuse Korean and Western music. Some composers concern themselves with the sound of Korean music, thereby borrowing its characteristic features in their compositions. Some of them make such new sounds that they contain timbres of Korean traditional music in the clarinet through the application of some techniques like the glissando, flutter, wide vibrato, and multi-tones. As a result, such creative