[On Stage] German Court Singer Yeon Gwang-cheol "Finding My True Self by Singing Our Songs"

Pungwoldang 20th Anniversary Commemorative Yeon Gwang-cheol's First Korean Art Song Collection Release
December 3rd, Korean Art Song Recital at Seoul Arts Center

"‘My hometown where I lived is a flower-blooming mountain village, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, baby azaleas... I am Korean. This time, I released my first Korean art song album, capturing memories of my childhood. Singing Korean art songs made me feel like they truly became a part of me.”

Opera singer Yeon Gwang-cheol is giving a greeting at the press conference for the release of Yeon Gwang-cheol's Korean Art Song Collection 'Spring of Hometown,' held on the 3rd at Pungwoldang in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pungwoldang's founding.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yeon Gwang-cheol (58), a world-renowned vocalist who has been active on European stages including Germany for 30 years and was awarded the title of Kammers?nger (court singer), has released his first Korean art song album titled Spring in My Hometown. The album, which includes 18 widely known art songs such as "Sanyuhwa" and "Bimok," was planned and released by Pungwoldang, a classical music specialty store and cultural complex, to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

At a press conference held on the 3rd at Pungwoldang in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Yeon Gwang-cheol confessed, "While working abroad for 30 years, I tried to understand and interpret their works and culture well to sing emotionally moving songs that fit the local sentiment, but I was ultimately a foreigner and experienced confusion about my identity."

He said, "On the other hand, with our art songs, I thought that even if I interpreted and sang all the words, nuances, overall context, and stories open to various interpretations in my own way, listeners might empathize. Singing Korean art songs naturally brought back the rural atmosphere and the beauty of nature I felt while living in a countryside village without electricity during my childhood."

He added, "I found my true self, not as a foreign character singing on opera stages abroad for 30 years, but as someone who grew up in Korea, through singing our art songs."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Born in a mountain village in Chungju, Chungbuk, Yeon Gwang-cheol graduated from Cheongju University’s College of Music and then went to Europe, graduating from Sofia University of Music in Bulgaria and Berlin University of the Arts in Germany. After winning the 1993 Paris International Pl?cido Domingo Competition, he made a name for himself in the music world. From 1994 to 2004, he was a full-time member of the Berlin State Opera. He has performed on major opera stages worldwide, including Bayreuth in Germany, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Royal Covent Garden in the UK. In 2018, he received the prestigious Kammers?nger title, the highest honor for vocalists in German-speaking countries.

The album includes a total of 18 songs, featuring representative Korean art songs such as "Spring in My Hometown" (1926), "Climbing the Old Hill" (1933), "Azalea Flower" (1947), "Bimok" (1969), and "I Will Live in the Green Mountains" (1973), as well as a new piece "In the Mountains" (2023) composed by contemporary composer Kim Taek-su. Yeon said, "I selected the most basic songs I learned from textbooks during my school days. Although some songs may be missing, I want to continue working on this project beyond just this one album."

The background of this forgotten art song album project is Pungwoldang, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Park Jong-ho (63), the owner of Pungwoldang, a classical music specialty store and a cultural salon for enthusiasts, personally undertook the production of the album to revive art songs that had been fading in popularity since the 1990s.

Park said, "I have always felt the responsibility to continue and promote Korean art songs, which have almost disappeared since the 1980s. It’s not that there is no demand because there is no supply; rather, there is no demand because there is no supply. Even in rural areas, if a pizza shop opens, people eat pizza, but if the shop disappears, they stop eating pizza and eventually forget about it."

Park Jong-ho, CEO of Pungwoldang, is giving a greeting at the press conference for the release of Yeon Gwang-cheol's Korean Art Song Collection 'Spring of Hometown,' held on the 3rd at Pungwoldang in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pungwoldang's founding.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "It has been 150 years since Western music entered Korea. Although excellent performers have emerged, simply performing Western music as is and calling it ‘Korean classical music’ is contradictory and somewhat embarrassing. Korean art songs best capture our national sentiment. Compared to German Lieder, they are by no means inferior. The 18 songs included in this album deeply resonate with our hearts and are the songs our grandmothers and grandfathers used to listen to."

The album was completed with production funds raised by about 200 Pungwoldang members who sympathized with Park’s vision. This is the first album produced independently by Pungwoldang. Pianist Shin Mi-jung (40), who performs as part of the piano duo "ShinPark Duo," provided the accompaniment.

The album cover design was supported by the late master of Dansaekhwa painting, Park Seo-bo, who passed away last month and allowed the use of his work Myobeop No.980308. The album will be released simultaneously worldwide and will include a lyric booklet translated into English, Japanese, and German alongside Korean.

Yeon Gwang-cheol is scheduled to perform on the stage of the Korean Art Song Recital at Seoul Arts Center on the 3rd of next month, where he will directly convey the beauty of Korean art songs to the audience.