Bear Woman Dances

i. Prayer (chungmori changdan)
ii. Emergence
iii. Nongak

Bear Woman Dances was commissioned by dancer / choreographer Hyun-mi Cho to accompany a dance depicting the Korean creation myth in which a bear becomes human and gives birth to the Korean people. In this story, the son of the heavenly king descended to earth and ruled in what is today North Korea. A bear and a tiger wished to become human and prayed to the son of heaven to fulfill their wish. He gave each a small amount of garlic and herbs and told them live in a cave and stay out of the sun for 100 days, and if they could endure, their wish would be granted. The tiger was unable to endure this trial, but the bear succeeded and was turned into a woman. With the son of heaven, she bore a son who became the first human king of the land, establishing his kingdom in 2333 B.C at modern-day Pyongyang.

The three movements of this work depict the scenes in which the bear and tiger are praying to the son of heaven to become human, the moment of emergence of the bear as woman, and the celebration that follows. The first movement is structured using a rhythmic structure borrowed from Korean traditional music, a slow, twelve-beat cycle called chungmori. The third movement is a solo realization of modern nongak (“farmer’s music”), a virtuoso percussion ensemble music popularized by the group Samulnori and master musician Kim Duk Soo. Although this movement is originally composed, it is based upon rhythmic patterns, modulations, and a relentless intensity all characteristic of modern nongak.

8.5×11 PDF score and parts set
$15

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(ASCAP) and © Christopher Adler (ASCAP)