The Art of the Geomungo Sanjo

This reviewer must admit to being a big fan of sanjo, the extended, almost jazzy Korean instrumental genre. It typically opens at an extremely slow tempo and in each subsequent movement speeds up to a final fast movement full of syncopation. Originally performed on the 12-stringed gayaguem zither, sanjo was adapted for the geomungo, the six-stringed plucked zither heard on this album, in 1896. The geomungo has thick silk strings that resonate for short periods, all plucked with a bamboo stick that adds percussive elements as it strikes the wooden soundboard.

The geomungo is unique to Korea, and can be seen depicted in sixth-century paintings – although it may be even older. One of the pre-eminent stylists of geomungo sanjo was Han Gap-deuk (1919-1987), whose performance style became a school, and today’s greatest exponent is his student, Lee Jae-hwa.

She has been appointed the official preserver and transmitter of the genre as an ‘Intangible Cultural Asset, and this recording has an air of authenticity that takes us back to a pre-modern world, far from the bustle of modern-day life. In fact, the recording is meant to showcase a sort of archetypal performance, and to do so it dispenses with the normal drum accompaniment, leaving us just with the solo instrument. This is a pity, since it does have the effect of reducing the intensity of the performance, but this remains a mighty fine recording nonetheless. This, along with the recent Inédit gayaguem and ajaeng sanjo albums, recently won the Musique du Monde record prize in France.