Search - Various Artists :: Sinawi Music of Korea

Korean sinawi music originally accompanied propitiatory rites presided over by a female shaman, or mudang. The word sinawi is also synonymous with musical improvisation based on various rhythmic and melodic devices--the most important characteristic of this genre. This collection of sinawi-derived pieces, performed by groups of varying size and instrumentation, evokes the otherworldly sonic space of the shamanistic spirit realm. The opening "Sinawi ensemble" contrasts full-throated female vocals with the pinched, nasal keening of the double-reed piri and the two-stringed fiddle haegum, gradually building in speed and intensity. In "Haegum-sanjo," haegum virtuoso Choe Tae-hyon plays like a man possessed, etching jagged melodic flights with exaggerated vibrato and an almost violent bowing technique. "Piri-sinawi" is a brilliant exposition of the timbral peculiarities of the oboe-like piri, conjuring associations as disparate as Scottish bagpipe music and the plunger acrobatics of trombonist "Tricky Sam" Nanton. --Dennis Rea