Yu Min-hee - Yu Min-hee Creative Music III 'Chunhyang'

■ Product Description

This marks my third album as a Korean music composer. In the process of preparing for this work, I considered it a personal mission to intentionally study traditional Korean music extensively, utilizing its traditional rhythms (jangdan), melodies, and instrumental techniques. Through this, I am often awestruck by the artistry and wonder of traditional music, and from it, I draw new inspiration.

Among various works, 'Chunhyangga' (The Song of Chunhyang) holds a special connection with me. This album features four instrumental pieces inspired by the pansori 'Chunhyangga.' Some pieces began with profound inspiration from 'Chunhyangga's lyrics, while others partially borrowed its melodies.

Upon releasing '<Yu Min-hee Creative Music I - Song of Life>', I wrote that 'I am happy to be called a Korean music composer.' It still makes me happy to compose, feeling how ancient traditions continue to provide intellectual admiration and artistic emotion to this day. I hope there are people who can empathize with and share in the emotion of my music.

<About the Works>

1. For Daegeum and Piano <May You Know It Is I Alone>

Composed by Yu Min-hee / Daegeum by Jung So-hee / Piano by Shin Eun-kyung

In Park Bong-sul's version of 'Chunhyangga,' within the '<Long Sarangga>' (Love Song), Yi Mong-ryong embraces Chunhyang and grandly sings of his love with the long breaths of jinyang-jangdan. Yi Mong-ryong expresses his love for Chunhyang through various metaphors, and the title of this piece is taken from the end of this song.

In the first moonlight over seven hundred li of Dongting, a love as towering as Mount Wu;

With eyes gazing boundlessly at water like the sky, a love as profound as the vast ocean;

If our love is so strong in life, how could there be no promise after death?

You shall die and become a flower, and I shall die and become a tiger butterfly.

If I eagerly embrace your blossoms and playfully flutter about,

May you know it is I alone.

You shall die and become the Jongno belfry bell, and I shall die and become its striker.

At evening, the twenty-eight mansions, at dawn, the thirty-three heavens.

Though to others it sounds merely 'ding,' the sound of the belfry bell,

If to us two it strikes 'my love, ding, Yi Mong-ryong, ding' every day,

May you know it is I alone.

The lyrical expression of the steadfast and honest ujo melody, unwavering and true, brought Yi Mong-ryong's heart closer and more poignantly to me, inspiring a new piece, and this sentiment was expressed through daegeum and piano.

2. For 12-string Dae-ajaeng <Small as the Moon, Small as the Star>

Composed by Yu Min-hee / 12-string Dae-ajaeng by Lee Shin-ae / Jing by Woo Min-young

This piece was inspired by a deeply impressive listen to the 'Orijeong Farewell' passage from Kim So-hee's rendition of '<Chunhyangga>'. While starting the composition and reading the narrative of this passage, I encountered the scene where Bangja, after confirming Chunhyang's weeping, reports to Yi Mong-ryong, saying, 'Chunhyang is crying so heartbrokenly, no human child could bear to see it.' In that moment, I felt Chunhyang's sorrow at facing separation directly conveyed. This piece unfolds from a third-person perspective, observing Chunhyang's grief.

Chunhyang cried and even stubbornly resisted to prevent her separation from Yi Mong-ryong, but at that time, Yi Mong-ryong could not grant her wish. Eventually, Chunhyang accepted the farewell. The story of Chunhyang, who followed Yi Mong-ryong all the way to Orijeong to see him off, goes like this:

‘At that time, Chunhyang could not follow, so she climbed to a high place, placed her hand on her forehead, and watched her lord depart, like a flock of cranes. As he went further, he appeared smaller and smaller. Visible as the moon, then as a star, then as a butterfly, then as a speck of dust, he vanished completely over Mangjong Hill, and now even his shadow is gone...’

For Chunhyang, Yi Mong-ryong was a presence that appeared 'as small as the moon, then as a star, then as a butterfly, then as dust, then as a speck of dirt,' only to finally disappear without a trace. As I listened to this passage repeatedly, I pondered Chunhyang's complex emotions: the sorrow of separation, the regret over Yi Mong-ryong's fading presence, and a love for all things that grow smaller. I composed this piece by weaving these sentiments into the melody of the dae-ajaeng. The title of this piece, 'Small as the Moon, Small as the Star,' is derived from the 'Chunhyangga' narrative: 'Visible as the moon, then as a star.'

3. Haegeum • Gayageum Duo <Rising Moon, Setting Sun>

Composed by Yu Min-hee / 25-string Gayageum by Seo Eun-young / Haegeum by Jo Hye-ryeong

This piece borrows the melody of 'Nongbuga' (Farmer's Song) from 'Chunhyangga.' 'Nongbuga' is a song of working farmers. Yi Mong-ryong, having passed the state examination with top honors, hears the farmers' song on his way back to Namwon, anticipating his reunion with Chunhyang. The piece aims to capture the yearning of the two, leaving difficult times behind and looking forward to their reunion and hope. The inspiration for this composition came from the phrase in Manjeongje Chunhyangga's 'Nongbuga' narrative: 'Let us carry the 'rising moon, setting sun' on our friend's back and cultivate our treasure in this fragrant land.' A similar narrative in Kim Se-jong's 'Nongbuga' states: 'The sun sets in the western mountains (日落西山), and the moon rises from the eastern peak (月出東嶺).' The Manjeongje narrative's concise yet heartfelt expression of longing for a loved one was chosen as the title for this piece, and the flow of time until Yi Mong-ryong and Chunhyang's reunion, as well as the flow of the music, were depicted through the melodies of the haegeum and gayageum.

4. Ajaeng Quartet <I Long to See You, I Long to See You>

Composed by Yu Min-hee / So-ajaeng I by Bae Moon-kyung / So-ajaeng II by Lee Hwa-yeon

Dae-ajaeng I by Kim Cham-dawoon / Dae-ajaeng II by Choi Hye-rim

These lyrics can be found in two scenes of '<Chunhyangga>'. After Yi Mong-ryong first sees Chunhyang at Gwanghallu, he makes a promise to meet her at night and waits impatiently for time to pass throughout the afternoon. The song of anticipation for meeting Chunhyang is 'Cheonja Dweetpuri,' where he sings of Chunhyang, who never leaves his mind, saying, 'If Chunhyang and I sit face to face and share sweet talk, is it not like the character 'Yeo' (呂) among the laws of harmony?' He then expresses his passionate longing for Chunhyang by loudly exclaiming, 'I long to see her, I long to see her, I long to see our Chunhyang,' conveying his restless heart. The lyrics reveal the fluttering heart of a young man on the evening he is finally going to meet Chunhyang, whom he first encountered at Gwanghallu.

Another instance of these lyrics appears as Chunhyang's monologue in 'Ssukdaemeori' (Tangled Hair), sung by Chunhyang while imprisoned. With tangled hair, Chunhyang longs for Yi Mong-ryong, who has gone to Hanyang, and sings, 'I long to see him, I long to see him. I long to see my Lord from Hanyang.' The strength to wait for Yi Mong-ryong even amidst suffering comes from the earnestness of her love and faith in him. Taking these two phrases of 'I long to see you, I long to see you,' expressed in different situations, as its central theme, this work encapsulates the story of love and separation between Chunhyang and Yi Mong-ryong, their laments, and their eventual reunion in prison. The piece was created by utilizing parts of the melodies from 'Cheonja Dweetpuri,' 'Sarangga,' and 'Ssukdaemeori' as motifs throughout the composition.

CREDIT

Music Producer & Composer : Yu Min-hee

Executive Producer : Kim Myeon-ji

Project Manager : Park Tan

Design : Purple Brain

Recording Engineer : Lee Jeong-myeon, Lee Dong-gyu

Mixing Engineer & Mastering Engineer : Lee Jeong-myeon

Translated By Yoo Min-Hyung

Recording Studio : EUMSOUND

Mixing & Mastering Studio : EUMSOUND

Production : YESULSOOP Co., Ltd.