''Sujecheon'' is a

Korean court music Korean court music comprises three main musical genres: ''aak'', an imported form of Chinese ritual music; a pure Korean form called ''hyangak''; and a combination of Chinese and Korean styles called ''dangak''. Korean court music and its histor ...

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

in four movements dating to the mid-7th century

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

era. It is the most representative piece in the ''

jeongak ''Jeongak'' (literally "proper music") is that category of Korean music which is considered Korean Court Music, classical, as distinct from ''minsogak'' which is folk music. The category has traditionally been associated with the upper classes. Th ...

'' repertoire. It is performed by an ensemble composed primarily of wind instruments, including the ''piri'' and ''daegeum''. It originally had a vocal part, but today is performed instrumentally. The title ''Sujecheon'' may be translated as "Long Life, Immeasurable as the Heavens."

Background

''Sujecheon'' originated from a mid-7th century song called ''Jeongup'' or ''

Jeongupsa ''Jeongeupsa'' (, , "The Song of Jeongeup") is the only surviving ''gayo'' () song from the Baekje kingdom. ''Jeongeupsa'' is the oldest song recorded in Hangul, and is thought to be a popular folk song originating sometime after the rule of ...

'' (''Jeongupsa'' refers to the music's lyrics). During the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

dynasty, in the 10th century, the song was sung together with a dance performance. In the 14th century, it was sung as an accompaniment for the procession of the king or crown prince. It was passed down to the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

where it was written down in the

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

script, the first song to be so-written. It then became a purely instrumental piece performed by 6 musicians, but it can also be performed by a larger ensemble. The song is about a woman who waits on top of a mountain for her husband to return.

Background

See also

References

External links

Video