Meet CelloGayageum: the exciting duo comprising Kim Sol Daniel and Yoon Dayoung – two very gifted musicians and cultural ambassadors who are united in their passion to create musical harmony between classical music and Korean tradition. The duo, as the name suggests, create music using two instruments: The Cello, and the Gayageum. Since they formed as a duo, CelloGayageum (“CG”) have been the recipients of several prestigious awards and accolades, including the Soorim Cultural Prize (2018) and Jeongdang Theatre’s Artist of the Year (2020). They have also been the recipients of a grant from the Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture to produce their first album, titled “South Wave, North Wind.”
The origins of CelloGayageum and how the duo met in 2016 is a nice story to tell. Kim was living in Berlin and continuing his musical education (having previously studied at renowned institutions such as Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts and being selected for a prestigious Artist Residency Programme). Yoon, on the other hand, had been selected as part of an exchange programme between Korean University of Arts and the Berlin Korean Cultural Centre (“KCC”) which sends one Gayageum player to Berlin per year to teach people at the university how to play the Gayageum. During this time, the KCC organised a concert which required a classical performer to play alongside the Gayageum. Kim volunteered for this role. Once the pair had struck up a conversation they realised they much in common and shared a passions for creating music.
“I thought,” Kim shared, “that since the Gayageum was a completely new instrument to me, it [forming a duo] would be nice to be part of but I wouldn’t have had the courage to say so had she [Yoon] not told me she would like to create using the Cello.”
United by a love for music and a desire to present the traditional music of South Korea to the world, the key to their creations is an aspiration to mix the popular aspects of music with some experimental and artistic parts of music together to create a synergy. The synergy they mean here is that between east and western music, but also between two very different instruments.
“We are,” Kim shared, “always searching for new ways to create sound with our instruments, to put that in a form people will enjoy but we also dream of making music that we ourselves can enjoy and would listen to again and again.”
F: Are there moments during the creative process that you struggle with the repetition?
CG: Oh, absolutely. When we are recording we are forced to repeatedly listen to the music, but after a break we always come back and feel happy about what we have created. We always try to work on what we are able to improve for the next time, and we also try to appreciate the art.
Kim shared with me a bit about his early exposure to music as a child, which came about through the support of his mother, who is an opera singer. Kim joked that he has not inherited his mother’s talent for singing. His talents are with the Cello, a decision he made to pursue at the age of six. Kim describes music as something that “always felt natural” to him. “Originally,” he said, “I actually wanted to learn either the violin or piano, but when I saw that lots of other people in my class also did too, I decided that I wanted to pick something bigger”. Interestingly, he shares that he would have picked the double bass but decided against it on further reflection that it would have been difficult to carry.
“I think the cello is one of the most beautiful instruments. I think that it is one of the most versatile instruments too. You can do so much with it. If you try to be creative, it lets you do a lot.”
Having agreed with him in this regard, our conversation turned to the Gayageum. The traditional Gayageum has 12 strings which Kim informs me, “are plucked with fingers on the right hand, and then the left hand maintains the vibrato by pressing down the strings to change the tension. The strings are made out of silk. You would think that the strings would be silky and smooth but they actually aren’t, they are pretty rough.”
After learning that Yoon plays a version of the Gayageum that has an impressive 25 strings, we spoke a little bit about the training involved in mastering the instrument. “Instrumentalists,” Kim informed me, “looking to play the Gayageum receive training in 3 instruments. First they learn the traditional 12 string Gayageum, then progress to the 25 string instrument. On top of this, they receive training in ‘the Royal Gayageum’.” This latter instrument, as the name suggests, is the instrument that would have been played in front of the King. But, as Kim kindly shared with me, it wouldn’t have been played solo. As the performance was for the King, it would always be played in an ensemble consisting of a few Royal Gayageums, Haegeums and Wind instruments. The rhythm of the music would have been very slow.
Talking of the methods in which they received their respective classical training, Kim said that they were “very different”. Kim’s curriculum of training in the Cello, being a Western classical instrument, largely consisted of practice of a lot of different musical compositions. Yoon’s training, by comparison, required her to created her own compositions. Talking of this, Kim said that as “the Korean traditional instrumentalists do not have so much repertoire, she [Yoon] was encouraged to create her own music which is really nice. I think students should be encouraged to write their own music.”
This led us naturally on to the obvious differences between the two instruments, and the challenges they present when creating and performing music. Even though the Cello and Gayageum are made with similar material (in that they are both wood instruments with strings attached), they sound very different, and are designed very differently. “The Gayageum by comparison [to the Cello],” Kim explains, “is basically a wooden sitar.” Largely the differences between the two instruments originates from the locations in which they were designed to be played. “This is”, Kim said, “because the western instruments were intended to be played in big halls that were very echoey, especially in the Baroque era,” and as such there came a need for instruments that were made for projection so that the music was able to reach a lot of people at the same time. “It is different for Asian instruments,” he continued, “because they were never supposed to be played for a lot of people, and they were always played indoors. The traditional was that they were played on the floor so they [the instruments] were designed in a way that allows the sound to go to the floor and then gets rebounded into the air. The rooms were also designed in a way that they could reflect a lot of sound waves.”
We spoke a little bit about how modern technology assists them in their performances. “In the beginning, when we were just starting out,” Kim shared, “it was difficult to find a sonic balance. I was forced to play and imagine with my ear.” If the duo play at a venue, for example, that has over 500 seats, Kim said “as a cellist I can cope with that, but the Gayageum has no chance.” This means that there always has to be some form of microphones/PA system for their performances, otherwise the sound of the Gayageum “would be lost to the Cello.”
CG: Nowadays most of the venues we play at have sound systems available. We have figured out a way to mic our instruments properly so that they sound pretty natural. I have no way of controlling the sound. 30 years of practice goes out the window. We have to rely on our sound engineer who knows our pieces. I just do my best to play with no wrong notes!
At the time of our conversation, the duo had just returned from a performance on Jeju Island. Talking of this meaningful experience:
“We were supposed to play outside with amplification but suddenly it was pouring rain. Everyone had to go inside, and the event was all but cancelled. However the organisers kindly asked us to play, as people were waiting for us but we didn’t have any mics or amps. We were just in a room. Like the beginning. It was pretty nice music making.”
Kim shared with me a little bit about the some of the interesting collaborations they have been part of over the last year or so, including having the incredible and exciting opportunity to compose music that was played to accompany kinetic artworks at Korea’s National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art (“MMCA”) – please see videos at the end of this article. The duo also attended a government event to mark the 70th year of alliance between US and Korea earlier this year, and had the honour of performing at events to commemorate the start of the ceasefire. They are currently preparing for a tour in the US next year, where they will be touring for one month and performing in 14 different cities. They are also playing in Montreal in November. “We are,” Kim said, “also looking forward to the release of our next album.”
We spoke for a little while in particular about two of their compositions that I’ve really fallen in love with. These are: F.A.E and Sound of the Ocean, both of which are on the playlist prepared by the KCCUK – which you can listen to by clicking here.
“F.A.E”, Kim informed me, is “actually a German acronym for F and E which means free, but lonely.” When they first looked to create the piece, they wanted to create something that was a homage to classical music using the notes F.A.E. “Brahms and Schuman already did that years ago, of course, but we wanted to honour them in our music. When we were thinking about how to go about that,” Kim continued, “it was during a period of time I was performing a piece that contained a particular second piano moment which Dayoung loved. She said ‘I want to make a song with that pattern’ and I said, ‘Ok! Lets try!’ That’s how we got the idea, and from there it was just a case of jamming around with music. That is how we work, we get some sketches and ideas and then brainstorm, record a lot and then we figure out how we can create a piece that fits within 5 or 7 minutes.”
Kim’s comments make sense to me. I have grown up a great admirer of stringed instruments such as the Violin and Cello, and this piece of music (F.A.E) really does showcase the versatility of the Cello that Kim mentioned at the start of the interview. It’s also a really great composition to listen to if you haven’t heard the Gayageum before – Yoon plays beautifully. The two instruments really compliment each other. From the moment I first listened to the track F.A.E. I was overcome with a feeling of great relaxation, that being the beauty of really good classical music.
F: Listening to Sound of the Ocean reminded me of a very specific beach that’s close to my heart, where the weather is so changeable and one minute everything might be calm only to become stormy the next. I was wondering that was what you intended your listener to feel?
CG: We wanted to show the different aspects of the Ocean and how it can be peaceful but also stormy with lots of waves. Very destructive actually. Then for the middle part we tried to showcase that the ocean doesn’t just have a surface, it has a whole depth of things beneath it. I’m glad you got what we intended. It is really nice hearing that.
Most of the time people do get our musical intentions but sometimes people get something totally different, which is really nice. Sometimes we create songs but don’t make the title until after we play it in front of people and we ask them what they imagine when listening to it.
F: What has been the most unusual answer someone has given you in response to that question?
CG: Most people land within the boundaries of our intentions, which is nice but there have been some interesting answers as well. For example for one composition, we were imaging a desert when we created it, and people were talking about forests, which is the total opposite, which was unexpected.
F: Which of your works are you most proud of?
CG: There are two pieces that we have created for our second album (not out yet) but they have been pretty popular among people who have heard them. These two pieces resonate a lot with the audience. We get a lot of feedback after concerts from people telling us they have cried listening to our music, which is a nice thing to hear. We are still waiting for its release. Please look forward to that.
F: What can we expect from your performance as part of the K-Music Festival on 6 October?
CG: Since we are duo, people assume that our music will be pretty quiet but we have made it our mission to get the maximum out of what we can offer, so the programme is going to be very dynamic. Because the Cello in itself is an instrument that is well known to western audiences, our performance will feel familiar but at the same time very new as the way I play is very different to others. Plus, of course the Gayageum is a very new instrument to a lot of audiences. We are also collaborating with Dasom Baek, an amazing Gayageum player, as part of the festival, and she is going to utilise some electronic music and some gadgets.
“We are also really excited to have the opportunity to play in the UK. We have performed in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Switzerland – everywhere but the UK, somewhere we have really wanted to visit. We said “we have to go to the UK” so finally ! We have the chance!” (This prompted a clap from me)
CG are dedicated in their mission to create good music through exploring balances and experimenting, and having done so have created their own musical language. Their love for music is evident.
CG’s advice to aspiring musicians: Never give up! There will be times that are bumpy and difficult, and there are always going to be people who are against what you want to do, but we think that is the same for every pioneer. It is a lonely path to walk but if you believe in yourself, you just need to make sure that the quality is good. Eventually you will find people who will appreciate that.
Also setting yourself up for failure & being open minded to what people say when they are critiquing your music. It is very important as an artist to have your own opinion and your colour but at the same time you must not forget that what you are doing is for the people. You have to figure out what is useful and what is not. Just keep going and you will eventually get where you want!
STARLIGHT (2023)
Produced by Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation, MMCA & NPLUG. Commissioned piece for Choe U-ram’s <Little Ark] Exhibition, MMCA Hyundai motor series 2022
Roundtable (2023)
Produced by Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation, MMCA & NPLUG. Commissioned piece for Choe U-ram’s <Little Ark] Exhibition, MMCA Hyundai motor series 2022
