Munmyo Jeryeak 문묘제례악 (Confucian Shrine Music) of South Korea

"The ceremony of the offering silk," a segment of the Munmyo Jeryeak (문묘제례악 / 文廟祭禮樂, Confucian Shrine Music) of South Korea.

Excerpt from a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM set produced by The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts in Seoul, South Korea. Video produced in cooperation with KBS (Korean Broadcasting System).

Performance date: November 27, 2002
Date of production: November 2003

공연일자 : 2002년 11월 27일
제작년월 : 2003년 11월

Munmyo (문묘 / 文廟, more specifically Seoul Munmyo or Sung Kyun Kwan Munmyo) is Korea's primary Confucian shrine ("munmyo" is also the general Korean term for "Confucian shrine"). Designated by the South Korean government as Historic Site No. 143, it is located in central Seoul, South Korea, at 53 Myeongnyun-dong 3(sam)-ga, Jongno-gu, on the campus of Sungkyunkwan University.

The ritual called Munmyo jerye (문묘제례 / 文廟祭禮), which involves music and dance, is held there each year in the spring (April) and autumn (September); the ritual features ancient music of Chinese origin called Munmyo jeryeak (문묘제례악 / 文廟祭禮樂), which is a form of a-ak (아악 / 雅樂), or court/ceremonial music. Munmyo also served as the national shrine for Confucius, ten of his disciples, and eighteen of Korea's most venerated Confucian scholars, including (in the chronological order of enshrinement) Choe Chiwon, Seol Chong, An Yu (An Hyang), Jeong Mong-ju, Kim Gwoeng-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang, Jo Gwang-jo, Yi Eonjeok, Yi Hwang, Yi I, Seong Hon, Kim Jang-saeng, Song Siyeol, Song Jun-gil, Pak Se-chae, Kim Inhu, Jo Hun, and Kim Jip.

The musicians are provided by The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. The instruments used include ocarina (hun, 훈/塤), panpipe (bongso, 봉소/鳳簫), transverse bamboo flutes (ji, 지/篪 and jeok, 적/翟), vertical bamboo flute (yak, 약/籥), 25-string bridge zither (seul, 슬/瑟), 7-string zither (geum, 금/琴), stone chimes (pyeongyeong, 편경/編磬), bronze bells (pyeonjong, 편종/編鐘), single stone chime (teukgyeong, 특경/特磬), single bronze bell (teukjong, 특종/特鐘), set of two drums pierced by a pole (nogo, 노고/路鼓), set of two small pellet drums on a pole, which is twisted to play (nodo, 노도/路鼗), huge barrel drum (jingo, 진고/晉鼓), tiger-shaped wooden scraper (eo, 어/敔), wooden trough played with a pestle (chuk, 축/柷), clay pot (bu, 부/缶), and wooden clappers (bak, 박/拍).