KOREA • THE ART OF GAYAGEUM SANJO

The sanjo is a suite for solo instrument accompanied unobtrusively by a drum janggu. The sanjo draws on several heritages: the improvised shamanistic music sinawi, the one-actor opera pansori and the aristocratic chamber music pungnyu. The piece is performed as an impromptu: at first calm and meditative, the playing as the tempo is getting faster, is more tensed and brilliant so that it brings a feeling of joy and physical pleasure. The creator of sanjo in the 1890s, Kim Chang-jo, trained several disciples who in turn transmitted this piece to their own followers. This version has been established by his Kim Chang-jo's grand-daughter, Kim Juk-pa (1910-1989) whose Park Hyun-sook is a direct disciple.

See also:
The art of the ajaeng sanjo by Kim Young-gil
The art of the geomungo sanjo by Lee Jae-hwa
The art of the daegeum sanjo by Ahn Sung-woo