Aak
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| Aak | |
| Hangul | 아악 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 雅樂 |
| Revised Romanization | Aak |
| McCune–Reischauer | Aak |
Aak Korean pronunciation: [a.ak] is a genre of Korean court music. It is an imported form of the Chinese Yayue.[1] Aak is often labeled as "elegant music" in contrast with other traditional Korean music. Aak began as the music played during the Korean "Jongmyo Shrine's Jerye Ceremony," and was later used for other occasions, and as Korean court music, often with lyrics praising the current ruler.
Background
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.
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 are rarely played and both have Chinese influences.
The article on Aak in the Encyclopaedia Britannica is its very first entry, though it consists only of a cross-reference to the article on gagaku.
Performance
The music is now highly specialized, and modern repertoire consists of just two different surviving melodies. It is played only at certain ceremonies, such as the Munmyo jeryeak (Sacrifice to Confucius) held each spring and autumn at the Munmyo shrine in the ground of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.[3]
Both the two surviving pieces consist of 32 notes each, 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]
See also
- Yayue
- Munmyo
- Dangak
- Hyangak
- Akhak Gwebeom
- National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts
- Traditional Korean musical instruments
- Korean music
- Gagaku
- Nhã nhạc
- Culture of Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- Korean ritual music (link is dead)
- A Study of Musical Instruments in Korean Traditional Music (The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Korea, 1998) (link is dead)
- Old recordings of aak in the 1960s A collection of Korean court music videos
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