Pansori is a traditional Korean art form combining storytelling and music.This CD features the acclaimed pansori singer Nam Hae-Sung, on a performance of Sugung-ga (The Song of the Underwater Palace), one of the five surviving stories of the pansori tradition.Sugung-ga is considered to be probably the most exciting of the pansori repertoire, through its personification of animals, being based on the story of the Dragon King of the Southern Sea, a turtle, and a wily rabbit. The story is set in three different places: from the underwater palace to land, to the palace again and then back to land. The most beautiful music occurs in the third scene change where the hero, a rabbit, deceives the Dragon King and escapes. Nam Hae-seong is known for the range of her vocals, from powerful to soft, and in particular her high-pitched tones.
1. Medical Examining Dragon King (9:28) 2. Dragon King Sighs (11:18) 3. Drawing a Picture of Rabbit for Turtle (11:35) 4. Turtle Comes to Land to Find a Rabbit (5:35) 5. Land Animals Compete to Take the Seat of Honor (11:51) 6. Turtle Survives an Encounter With a Mountain Tiger (5:32) 7. Turtle meets Rabbit (6:32)
