SamulNori, which means "to play four things" in Korean, incorporates four traditional percussion instruments: the kkwaenggwari, a small gong made mainly of brass, the ching, a large gong that is struck with a padded stick, the changgo, a leather drum in the shape of an hourglass and the puk, a barrel drum made of hollowed-out wood and leather skins.
Each instrument in SamulNori's set represents an element of nature: The kkwaenggwari is related to lightning, the ching is connected with the wind, the changgo is linked with rain and the puk is associated with clouds.
Thursday's show will open with Binari, a traditional prayer song during which audience members will be invited to approach an altar and recite prayers. The performance will then segue into contemporary SamulNori arrangements of traditional music and will close with Pan Gut, an energetic style of dancing featuring oversized hats with ribbons and feathers known as sangmo and bupo. Pan Gut is a modern rendition of large group dances common at farming festivals.
"SamulNori picked dying traditions and adapted them to the contemporary spirit," Asian and Middle Eastern studies professor Sunglim Kim, who is delivering a pre-performance lecture at 6 p.m. on Thursday, said.
SamulNori's roots are drawn from many aspects of traditional Korean culture. Because of Duk Soo's experiences, the namsadang heavily influences SamulNori's melodies. The group is also inspired by Korean farmer folk bands that used to play music while workers labored.
SamulNori's performances incorporate several Korean religious traditions, particularly shamanism, the belief that an individual can act as an intermediary between humans and the gods through prayer songs and other rites.
Hopkins Center programming director Margaret Lawrence has seen the group perform multiple times and reached out to SamulNori's agent to bring the group members to Dartmouth.
"What I love about SamulNori is that their performance is not just rhythmic," she said. "It becomes a really dazzling visual sensation for the audience that's really rousing."
The group has been immensely successful in Korea, sparking a renewed interest in traditional forms of art and transforming SamulNori from an individual group to its own a genre of music and performance. In 1993, SamulNori became SamulNori Hanullim Inc., growing from a four-person ensemble to a company of 30 artists and students. Thursday night's performance will feature seven of these artists.
"It is not formal, traditional music," Kim said. "SamulNori appeals to the masses. For SamulNori, the most important thing is that all your burdens and fears go away while you are listening. SamulNori helps you get into that mood."
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, SamulNori demonstrated its powerful drumming techniques at a workshop in Alumni Hall. Attendees had the opportunity to try out the four-key instruments used by the group and learn some basic rhythms, drumming techniques and body movements of the art form.
"The experience of seeing performers is largely about the connection between the artists on stage and the audience," Lawrence said. "In a SamulNori performance, the energy of the performers just bounces off the energy of the audience."
