KYUIL YOON: The Fusion of Korean and Western Musical Language

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the music of Kyuil Yoon. His work represents the fusion of Korean folk music with western musical tradition. Kyuil Yoon is a Korean composer born in South Korea in 1970. Yoon’s compositional style is produced by combining Western musical language with traditional Korean music. The formation and development of his music consists of Western methods, but the musical material is made with Korean musical materials including melody, jandan—which is the rhythm of Korean traditional music—and story. Just as Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Béla Bartók incorporated national musical elements in their music, Yoon uses Western musical language as the vehicle for transmitting traditional Korean music. In this document, I will explore general elements of Korean folk music and analyze how those elements are used in three different works of Yoon's works. The works include the Piano Trio no. 2, the 16 Variations on Arirang Theme for 4 Hands at Two Pianos, and the Blue Bird for Piano Solo. All three works are rooted in the following Korean folk songs: Aririang, Jung-sun Arirang, and Bird Bird Blue Bird. The focus will be to identify and explain how Yoon uses Korean folk elements in three different musical genres to produce three contemporary Western-style compositions.