Overseas pansori singers carry out at Casa Amigo in central Seoul’s Gyeongnidan neighborhood, June 21. On the suitable is Cameroonian French singer Laure Mafo, and subsequent to her is British singer Erin Hughes. Korea Instances photograph by Jon Dunbar
A various group of overseas pansori singers will carry out their second showcase of Korea’s conventional narrative music style at Casa Amigo in central Seoul’s Gyeongnidan neighborhood on Saturday.
Final time these worldwide practitioners of conventional Korean music gathered there, the room stuffed with each Koreans and different overseas residents curious to see them carry out and be taught extra about pansori.
“The response from individuals who got here to the final occasion was very optimistic, with many asking us to prepare one other one,” Erin Hughes, the principle occasion organizer, advised The Korea Instances. “That is why we determined to do a second present.”
As a result of explosive curiosity of their free live performance, the organizers determined this time to cost 15,000 received for entry, which additionally comes with one free drink.
Registered on UNESCO’s Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, pansori is a style of musical storytelling tracing its historical past again centuries. Usually carried out by solo singers, referred to as sorikkun, who carry out all of the roles in a set repertoire of orally transmitted performs, often called madang. Solely 5 of the unique 12 madang are nonetheless preserved in the present day.
As a full madang can typically take as much as 10 hours to carry out, modern performances often function solely quick excerpts. The sorikkun is accompanied by a drummer, referred to as a gosu, who gives percussion and vocal interjections to emphasise and encourage the performer. Pansori is a energetic, participating musical style, with spectators including their very own exclamations, a observe referred to as chuimsae.
“The singing model is loud and highly effective, which is basically putting while you hear it for the primary time,” Hughes mentioned. “I feel people music can be enticing to individuals who wish to discover a deeper connection to Korean tradition, whether or not they’re Koreans connecting with their very own cultural roots, immigrants attempting to assimilate or overseas guests who merely wish to expertise Korea’s ‘genuine’ traditions.”
Hughes is considered one of 5 singers to carry out this Saturday, with the visitor of honor being Cameroonian French sorikkun Laure Mafo. The opposite three are Tian Siyu of China, Tham Shungmin of Malaysia and Gaia Brusasco from the U.S.
All are college students of pansori trainer Min Hye-sung at Soeul Soripan. They are going to be accompanied by Lee Beomhui as gosu, who additionally supported them final time.
Hughes and the opposite three organizers got here up with the identify Bikabi for his or her staff, based mostly on a phrase used way back to explain beginner pansori performers.
“We aren’t skilled musicians, however simply take pleasure in studying pansori in our free time,” Hughes mentioned.
Mafo, then again, has been finding out pansori for a few years and earned her diploma in pansori. She is getting ready for her first full-length pansori efficiency subsequent 12 months, which often is the first-ever case of a overseas sorikkun finishing a full pansori in live performance. She can be getting into a grasp’s program for pansori at Korean Nationwide College of the Arts subsequent 12 months.
“I am very glad she agreed to affix us, as she is a unbelievable performer and all of us have a number of respect for her,” Hughes mentioned. “Laure can be a pupil of Ms. Min, as are three or 4 different overseas girls who’ve studied or are finding out pansori as their topic of experience.”
A poster for the Pansori Evening live performance Saturday at Casa Amigo / Courtesy of Bikabi
Hughes mentioned that almost all of Min’s college students are Korean, however added that “these of us who’re overseas typically carry out collectively.”
“I feel there’s a sure curiosity and curiosity from Korean audiences in seeing overseas gugak performers on stage, so we fill a selected area of interest,” she mentioned. Gugak is a common time period for Korean conventional music.
“We now have beforehand been invited to carry out at giant cultural festivals and occasions, however the occasion at Taco Amigo in June was the primary time we had ever organized our personal present by ourselves. To carry out within the informal and comfortable setting of a bar and restaurant was a very totally different expertise in comparison with the extra formal phases we had beforehand carried out on.”
Throughout that earlier efficiency, Hughes mentioned she heard from a number of different foreigners interested by studying learn how to sing pansori, however their class in the end didn’t obtain any new college students.
“If there’s anybody on the market who continues to be questioning learn how to be taught pansori as a foreigner, a great way to start out can be to attend for the subsequent Ojakgyo Mission class in summer time 2026. It is a newbie class run by the World Pansori Affiliation,” she mentioned.
“The great factor is that — in my expertise, no less than — there’s a heat welcome for everybody within the gugak group.”
The present begins Saturday at 8 p.m. Go to @amigo_talent on Instagram for extra data.
