Sacrifice of Princess Bari reborn in music

Musician Jung Jae-il, left, and "pansori" (Korean traditional narrative music) singer Han Seung-seok perform at the "Bari, abandonded" concert at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on July 19.
/ Courtesy of CJ Culture Foundation

Han's pansori meets Jung's piano in ‘Bari, abandoned'

By Kwon Mee-yoo

A man sitting at the piano faces another man standing in front of a microphone. It is an unexpected ensemble of piano and "pansori" (Korean traditional vocal music), but the harmony of an intrepid Korean singer and a shy but talented musician breathed new life into the Korean folklore of Princess Bari.

Pansori singer Han Seung-seok, 46, and all-round musician Jung Jae-il, 32, experimented with a range of traditional Korean music at a concert in the Small Hall DAL of the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday.

The concert was named after their new album "Bari, abandoned," a contemporary interpretation of the tale of Princess Bari, who goes on a journey to the underworld in search of the elixir of life to save her parents, even though they deserted her.

Conventionally, Princess Bari is considered as a symbol of female sacrifice, but Han and Jung see salvation in her also. Her parents denied her existence, but she overcomes this and forgives herself as well as her parents. The duo believes modern people need to take a leaf from Bari's book.

Playwright Bae Sam-sik contributed to the lyrics, bringing the folk tale to the modern world. The sorrowful opening number "Bari, abandoned" is about abandoning and being abandoned. Jung's fingers flew over the keyboard and Han's delectable voice added more charm.

Inspiration for the album came from a very Korean story, but their music goes beyond nationality. "Ama, ama, mero ama" is Han and Jung's tribute to an unregistered Nepalese worker who died of heart attack after five months in Korea in 1992. "Young refugees" is about refugees in Africa who can be interpreted as a modern-day Bari, fleeing their countries, often under threat of death, to seek better lives elsewhere.

Multi-faceted Jung played several other instruments during the concert such as electric and acoustic guitar and bass. He even played the role of Princess Bari in "Laundry song," which tells of the encounter of Bari and an old woman doing laundry, who later revealed as the creator of the world.

The concert continued with "Maybe, she might be" and "You, a waterdrop," the two songs that look at Bari's adventure. Although Bari lived a tortuous life, the music was not plaintive; rather it was energetic, as if she is venting her spite.

During the encore, Han and Jung performed "Jaryong is shooting arrows," a song from traditional pansori "Jeokbyeok-ga," reimagined by the duo. Describing a scene from the Chinese historical legend of the Battle of Red Cliffs, the pansori accompanied by piano conveys the dramatic tension of the war in a dynamic way.

The two both have unusual careers as musicians. Han was born in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, and was exposed to Korean traditional music in his childhood. He entered the College of Law at Seoul National University, one of Korea's most prestigious schools, but he joined a Korean traditional music club and fell in love with Korean music. Instead of pursuing law, Han studied "samulnori" (Korean traditional percussion quartet) and pansori, and joined the National Changgeuk Company of Korea upon graduation.

Jung was a musical prodigy — he began playing piano at four and was absorbed in heavy metal bands such as Metallica when in elementary school. Jung debuted as a bassist of the band Gigs at 17 and arranged music for composer Won Il. He was also musical director of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" last year, and acclaimed for his up-tempo rock arrangement.

The two met in Korean percussion group Puri in 2001 and collaborated on various projects to modernize Korean traditional music. The CJ Culture Foundation sponsored the album "Bari, abandoned" and Han and Jung's effort to create new music, interpreting a Korean folk story in a modern way.

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