Sinawi is an ensemble music derived from shamanistic ritual music and performed in an impromptu fashion. Prior to a performance, sinawi musicians generally discuss only the pace and how long they will perform, not the detailed melody. Once the music starts, they play their own melody on top of the agreed rhythm. To those used to the fixed beat and melody of western music, sinawi may sound more like a dissonant modern creation, but after a while it begins to attain a strange harmony out of all the discord. In many cases, today’s sinawi musicians choose to play tunes far more fixed than the original versions. Ensemble Sinawi is a group of young musicians in search of Korean traditional music that appeals to people in modern times as well as those in other parts of the world. Let’s listen to one of their performances and try to understand how the traditional art form of sinawi has evolved to suit today’s music taste. This is a part from “Cadenza for the Soul” performed by Ensemble Sinawi.

Some parts from “Cadenza for the Soul” / Ensemble Sinawi

That was a segment from “Cadenza for the Soul” played by Ensemble Sinawi. It was a new interpretation of the music from the Jindo shamanistic cleansing ritual, music to comfort the spirits of the deceased. It’s a prime example of the kind of music supported by Ensemble Sinawi. The ensemble was formed not that long ago, in 2007, but the musicians’ talent and fresh interpretations of music have earned them positive reviews from fellow traditional musicians and the general public. Pansori is performed by Lee Bong-geun, gayageum by Ha Se-ra, a-jaeng by Shin Hyun-shik, percussion by Kim Ji-hye, and piano by Jeong Song-hee. Jeong’s career prior to Sinawi is rather interesting: she studied law and then creative composition at the Korean National University of Arts, finally moving on to study the field of interactive media at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Being so different yet becoming a part of the whole – that’s what defines Ensemble Sinawi. Now let’s listen to Donghae Rhapsody, a piece from their second album “Into Time,” based on the shamanistic music from the east coast region of Korea.

Donghae Rhapsody / Ensemble Sinawi

Each concert of Ensemble Sinawi has a story to tell. The story is told by combining several different disciplines of art – stage play, jazz, dance, media art, and other art forms are integrated into the performances to play up the narrative. The musical group recently showcased new renditions of the five major pansori pieces. But their attempts are different from fusion music, the latest trend in Korean traditional music, in which elements of western or pop music are added to traditional tunes to produce more modernized and popular versions of Korean music. Ensemble Sinawi tries to find elements within traditional music, which can appeal to modern audiences and the world. Their hard work won them top honor in the group performance category at last year’s KBS Traditional Music Awards. We hope to see them make constant progress and pioneer a new path in Korean music. Let’s wrap up this week’s episode of Sounds of Korea with Ensemble Sinawi’s performance of Jebi Doraoda, or Swallow Returns.

Jebi Doraoda / Ensemble Sinawi