By Chung Jin-young
Staff Reporter

SEOUL?ith its unique sense of humor and pathos, pansori, or traditional one-man narrative song, is generally considered to represent what is essentially Korean.

However, the cherished tradition has somewhat faded amid decades of modernization to the extent that it is now patronized mostly by a small number of old people.

Against this background, a recently released pansori CD set is hoped to save the vanishing art form and popularize it among newer audiences. Published by Korea Britannica, the new album set comes in 33 CDs, along with lyrics both in Korean and English. They are expansive in scale, covering all existing five pansori Simchong-ga, Chun-hyang-ga, Hungbu-ga, Sugung-ga, and Chokbyok-ga. They also contain short pansori songs known as tanga.

Featured singers include prominent pansori artist such as Cho Sang-hyon who provided the background pansori tunes in Im Kwon-taek? latest film ?hunhyang and is the holder of Invisible Cultural Asset No. 5, and Han Ae-sun who has mastered major pansori repertoire directly from the renowned figures in the field.

Remarkably, the album contains songs by such deceased masters as Park Pong-sul and Chong Kwon-chin, accompanied by the legendary Korea drum player Kim Myong-hwan, all of them leaving behind indelible footprints on modern pansori.

The new records are the fruit of a long-time endeavor that dates back to the early l970s. From l973 to l978, Korea Britannica and the Korean Pansori Association hosted a series of l00 pansori concerts at the National Museum of Korea, with 20 singers and five drum players taking the stage.

The popularity of the concert made a strong impact on the younger generation of the time, who later became ardent supporters of pansori.

The recordings of the concerts came out as 23 LP records in l982, marking the first comprehensive compilation of pansori. Two decades after, the old recording has given way to a digital format that ensures better sound quality and durability.

?he new CDs are valued as a cultural asset as they brought back to life works of legendary singers performing in their prime time, said a public relations officer at Korea Britannica.

To capture the unique sound quality of pansori, the latest recording process involved an innovative approach never used before.

Kim Tae-hyon, a music critic, noted, ?he new Britannica version has succeeded in preserving the natural sound of pansori by recording at the appropriate level of mid-low pitch and avoiding any artificial effects such as echo.

While the release of the CD set is generally welcomed by pansori aficionados, it also raises a question about changes in ways of enjoying music. Unlike Western classical or popular music, pansori was not meant to be enjoyed in the privacy of one? living room.

Apart from the fact that there was no recording technology in the old days, entertainment in rural communities was a social rather than individual affair. Therefore, pansori, like any other performances, was set at an open venue, with a gathering of village people. It also required close interaction between performers and the audience, as the latter? response in the form of exclamatory remarks called ?huimsae was a key element of the show.

Lee Bo-hyong, a preservationist and expert on pansori, worried about the problem of the dwindling number of well-trained listeners of pansori, locally called ?wi myong-chang (ear master of pansori). ?ue to this decline, it is urgent that people are provided with fine pansori music and an opportunity to train their ears, as they are the very ones who promote and develop pansori, he said.

It may be not only the sound of pansori that young people are losing touch with. Its lyrics, usually containing antiquated expressions of the Choson period, are another obstacle to listeners of today.

A movement to revive the age-old tradition as exemplified in the release of new CDs is hoped to provide a solution to these problems. Korea Britannica is currently working on a new website, www.britannica.co.kr, www.pansori5.co.kr that offers a view of the lyrics in the new pansori CDs, along with commentary notes on them. At the same time, the company plans to revive a pansori concert series similar to the ones in the l970s.

The new CDs are distributed by Aimtech (02-2250-5l52), and the whole set is priced at 3l0,000won. They can also be purchased one by one.