GAYAGEUM SANJO

Gayageum Sanjo, compositions for 12-string Gayageum, Prelude, 5 sanjo and 10 studies. According to legend and to recent archeological digs, the Gayageum is a millennial zither-like instrument featured in all Korean traditional repertoires. Sanjo is usually translated as 'scattered melodies.' This style of music was informed by southwestern shamanic music (Sinawi) and the great epic songs (Pansori) from the same region. Melodies were improvised at first, then codified in the mid-19th century. Since then, they have evolved through lines of transmission (Ryu) from masters to pupils. (Jacques-Yves Le Docte, Korean traditional music expert).