Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DMA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

School of Music

Committee Chair

Kathleen Shannon.

Abstract

Korea's history spans over 5,000 years. A rich culture of Korean arts developed through the foresight and vision of Korean nobility and the artistic "underground" during periods of occupation. Korea was exposed to Western cultural influences beginning with the arrival of American Christian missionaries in the mid-19th century and the Japanese invasion and occupation (1910-1945). During the Japanese colonial period, the Korean people were forced to accept new cultural ideas including new forms and styles of music. After the emancipation from Japan, music in Korea was already becoming settled in the Western music system. Some composers who were active during the transitional period between Japanese occupation and Korean sovereignty (circa 1950s) believed that the Korean traditional music should be reintroduced to Korean culture. One composer/scholar who dedicated his professional life to the revival and progress of Korean traditional music was Un-Yeong Na (1922-1994). Na contributed to the perpetuation of Korean traditional music while also using Western musical idioms. Na believed that the most successful means of expressing traditional Korean musical idioms in a "modern" world was through the art song form. Un-Yeong Na's art songs are written in a recognizably Western musical style. This study of five of his art songs is intended to open this music to a wider, non-Korean audience by providing translations, IPA for the Korean language, and a detailed analysis of the elements of Korean traditional music present in these songs. The art songs of Un-Yeong Na are regularly performed in Korea. Many of his art songs are good teaching pieces and accessible to anyone willing to experiment with the Korean language.

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