Michael Atherton Sea & Mountain - Music in the Korean Style CD

The instrumental palette on this CD is broad. Some of the instruments are Korean and some of the combinations reflect Korean practices. For example, track 4 "The Singer of Tales" is influenced by 'pansori' - an extended musical narrative performed by a singer accompanied by a small double-headed barrel drum (puk). "Lovesong 1" and "Lovesong 2" are based on 'minyo', traditional folk-songs heard in the cities of Seoul and Kyongju.
The free improvisations on the zither and guitar heard on "A Poet's Longing" and "A Monk Reflects" allude to the sanjo tradition. Sanjo might be described as 'scattered melodies'. It is a solo form devoted to virtuosic performances on a melodic instrument accompanied by the changgo, an hour-glass drum.