This is the Moment (지금 이 순간)

This is the Moment" is my favorite song from the musical Jekyll and Hyde. The song was interpreted by a lot of singers such as Anthony Warlow, Rob Evan, Jack Wagner, and even David Hasselhoff. The musical also had a korean staging starting in 2004 with Jo Seung-woo and Ryu Jung-han in the lead.

If you have the time to watch the korean version of the song on youtube, aside from Jo Seung-woo and Ryu Jung-han, you might also want to check the version of Im Tae-kyung.

Here's the lyrics (english and korean) of the song just in case you would like to practice your vocal prowess. For those who would like to practice reading in korean, you might want to try singing with it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KiX2Wgo7hg

This is the moment, this is the day.

when i send all my doubts and demons on their way.

Every endeavour I have made ever, is coming into play, is here and now today.

This is the moment, this is the time.

When the momentum and the moment are in rhyme.

Give me this moment, this precious chance. I’ll gather up my past & make some sense at last.

This is the moment when all I’ve done.

All of the dreaming, scheming and screaming become one!

This is the day, See it sparkle and shine, when all I’ve lived for becomes mine.

For all these years, I've faced the world alone,

And now the time has come to prove to them I've made it on my own.

This is the moment. My final test.

Destiny beckoned, I never reckoned, Second Best.

I won't look down, I must not fall. This is the moment, The sweetest moment of them all

This is the moment. Damn all the odds. This day, or never, I'll sit forever with the gods.

When I look back, I will always recall, Moment for moment, This was the moment,

The greatest moment of them all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jCRYD-7EkQ

지금 이 순간 지금 여기 간절히 바라고 원했던 이 순간
나만의 꿈이 나만의 소원 이뤄질지 몰라 여기 바로 오늘
지금 이 순간 지금 여기 말로는 뭐라 할 수 없는 이 순간
참아온 나날 힘겹던 날 다 사라져간다 연기처럼 멀리
지금 이 순간 마법처럼 날 묶어왔던 사슬을 벗어 던진다
지금 내겐 확신만 있을뿐 남은 건 이젠 승리뿐
그 많았던 비난과 고난을 떨치고 일어서 세상으로 부딪쳐 맞설 뿐
지금 이 순간 내 모든 걸 내 육신마저 내 영혼마저 다 걸고
던지리라 바치리라 애타게 찾던 절실한 소원을 위해
지금 이 순간 나만의 길 당신이 나를 버리고 저주하여도
내 마음속 깊이 간직한 꿈 간절한 기도 절실한 기도
신이여 허락하소서

This would be a nice piece to try at your favorite noraebang. Happy singing!!!

Gayageum: Korean stringed instrument

The Gayageum is considered as the most well-known traditional Korean instrument. Similar to the table harp, this Korean board zither has 12 strings which were traditionally made from silk strings, although there are gayageum with 17 or 21 stings. Moreover, aside from silk other materials used for the strings are nylon, steel or even copper.

I was accidentally introduced to the Gayageum when I caught the last part of a traditional Korean musical performance in the activity center of one of the more popular malls in our place a few years back. And since then, it has been a part of my mp3 playlist. My mp3 player contains the piano version as well as the gayageum version of the Arirang. It also has some of Byungki Hwang’s work, such as Spring (봄) and Fall (가을) both from his CD침향무. Byungki Hwang is of course the foremost South Korean gayageum maestro.

On my wishlist is a string musical performance by Byungki Hwang on gayageum, Yoyo Ma on cello and Lucia Micarelli on violin. That would be a musical coup for me, but then again it’s just a wishlist.

So the next time you log in to youtube or imeem or to any of your favorite video sharing network, why not try to surf for some of Byungki Hwang's work or some gayageum performances and enjoy the beautiful sound of this korean instrument.

Pansori: Korean Opera

Have you ever watched a Korean show whether it be a documentary, movie or a drama where you see a person singing and accompanied only by a drummer? Well, that particular form of Korean music is called the pansori. The pansori is a traditional narrative song type which has been classified as a Natural Cultural Intangible Property by the Korean government in 1964 and has been designated as a UNESCO Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in November 7, 2003. The pansori is also considered as the Korean Opera.

“Pan” meaning a place where many people gather to do something special and “Sori” which is short for “Moksori” means human voice. Thus, pansori is a vocal art form performed in a public place.

There are two performers in a pansori: the gosu or the drummer and the sorrikun or the singer. The singer, usually holding a fan and a handkerchief, tells a folktale with a combination of a sori (singing), aniri (recitation), and pallim (body expressions). The fan is waved to emphasize the singer’s motions and is unfolded to announce changes of scene. While the drummer uses a stick to strike the wooden barrel of the drum with his right hand while pounding the drum head with his left palm, gives the rhythm as well as verbal sounds or chuimsae (this may be simple sounds of encouragement). The audience is also an important part of the pansori as they are expected to respond with their own chuimsae at various points in the performance.

Pansori performances are usually long with a full madang (story) lasting for hours, main reason why modern pansori are often done in sections so as not to get the audiences restless. One such example is that of the “Song of Chunhyang” which is performed for more than eight hours without a break (whew… talk of endurance).

So if you would like to experience a new music genre, why not try the pansori.