One of the most renowned Joseon era folk artist Kim Hong-do’s paintings is the “Traveler on Horseback Listening to the Birds Singing.” It depicts a gentleman listening to the nightingales singing on a budding willow tree. Next to the painting is a short poem that likens the birds flying between the willow branches to weaving a spring river with mist and rain. Koreans in the old days liked to use the willow and nightingales to describe a beautiful springtime scenery. In the late Joseon period, Crown Prince Hyomyeong효명, the only son of Joseon’s 23rd monarch, King Sunjo순조, choreographed a dance called Chunaengjeon춘앵전, which means the sound of nightingales chirping in spring. Dancers would don yellow dresses to represent the birds and dance to the tune of Yuchosinjigok유초신지곡 or music of young willow buds. The first piece we’re going to listen today is Seryeongsan세령산 Mountain, one of the movements from Yuchosinjigok. Kim Chi-ja plays the geomungo, Lee Young the piri, and Jo Yu-hoi the yanggeum. 

Seryeongsan Mountain / Geomungo by Kim Chi-ja, piri by Lee Young, yanggeum by Jo Yu-hoi

The most iconic folksong associated with the willow in spring is “Nodeul노들 Riverside.” The area referred in the song is Noryangjin노량진, located on the southside of the Han River, because a great number of willow trees used to grow from Noryangjin to Yanghwajin양화진, farther down the river to the west. It is said that the song was written on one spring day in the early 1930s. Shin Bul-chul신불출, a famous entertainer known for comedic acts, and songwriter Moon Ho-wol 문호월 were waiting for a boat at the Noryangjin dock to cross the river when they heard a sailor singing. The spring day was balmy and the willow trees along the river seemed to dance to the gentle river breezes. This peaceful sight inspired the two artists to go into the nearest pub and write the song right there and then. 

The footsteps made on the sandy beach of Nodeul riverside.

How many times have they been erased by long trials and tribulations?

Alas, even the sandy beach cannot be trusted.

Only that blue water over there flows by.

These lines lamenting the pain of living in a colony made the song quite famous back then. In today’s Sounds of Korea, we’ll hear Kim Yong-woo singing the song.

Nodeul Riverside / Sung by Kim Yong-woo

“Yangryuga양류가” is another song about willow trees in spring. It also sings of a nightingale singing among the willow branches. In the song, there is a line that describes how a nightingale sitting on a willow branch is mistaken for a swallow and gets chased. This passage is from pansori “Heungboga흥보가,” where Nolbu, Heungbo’s greedy brother, catches a nightingale in his hasty attempt to catch a swallow so that he can become rich like his younger brother. Heungbo had fixed a swallow’s broken leg and received some gourd seeds that bore magical gourds filled with treasures. Since the song is about a warm spring day, the melody is light and cheerful. Modern day music group Namu released a new arrangement of “Yangryuga,” which will be today’s last piece. The agile and happy melody of the daegeum reminds us of the nightingales flitting among the willow branches. Here’s music group Namu performing “Yangryuga.”

Yangryuga / Performed by Namu