The “Arirang” has no specific tempo, as it is an older, traditional folk song. That is why different regions play the song in different tempos and interpret the duration of each note unlikely, as seen by Se-Na’s interpretation of the notes. There are no ritardandos or accelerandos in the piece, in contrast to Chopin’s Nocturne.
His piece is pretty much Adante for the entire piece. All of the ritardandos, rubatos, and rallentandos are “poco,” as can be seen in measure 10 (poco ritard.), 12 (poco rall.), 18 (poco ritard.), etc.
Rhythmically, the two songs are not very similar: one is more structured, while the other song has no fixed form.
The time signatures on both songs are entirely different, too. There are no changes in time in both songs, however. Chopin’s piece is in 12/8, while the Korean folk song is in ¾. Both songs were played in triplets at some points within the pieces, though.
In the “Arirang,” the performance by Se-Na made the song seem homophonic, since she played the main melody while accompanying it with harmony using chords and arpeggios. However, it is not also the case; the song can also be monophonic, having a single melodic line played or sung without any accompaniment, or polyphonic, varied like a canon, as some regions do sing in different textures.
In “Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2,” however, the piece will forever be played with a homophonic texture. The base line continues to be triplet chords accompanying the main themes and motifs played in the melody of the piece. The only time the piece could technically be monophonic would be in measures 32 and 33, when the melody line plays the keys without an accompaniment.
The different styles that are implied by the composers are seen through the different circumstances and backgrounds of them. The “Arirang” has not much style since, as a folk song, its sole purpose is to provide enjoyment and pride to one’s country. The song is very simplistic – to the point that everyone changes the rhythm, style, texture, etc. to the piece.
The purpose of the Nocturne, on the other hand, was a short romantic piece, as is the definition of a Nocturne. Opus 9 indicates that the piece was composed several pieces later; a song created after experience. With the knowledge and emotions he carried (the passion of his nation), Chopin created a piece with the style that is evoked as indefinitely romantic. Composed in a major key, it can also be inferred that it was a positive style; a joyous song, yet with a tinge of grief. The slowness of the composition and the amount of accidentals may indicate such an outcome.
Between the two culturally diverse musical genres, there were several similarities and differences in the Korean folk song and the Romantic’s Nocturne. The textures are different, as the “Arirang” could be played in any texture, while the Nocturne cannot, and rhythmically, one song is more stabilized than the other. The instruments, genuinely, do not sound similar, as can be proven by their instrumentation family. However, structurally, they both had a somewhat binary form, constantly going back to the main theme, and the pieces were played with ornamentation around each of the motifs and phrases within the pieces; even the instrumentation may sound the same under different circumstances.
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Works Cited
"Arirang." Sowega is Southwest Georgia on the Internet Albany,Georgia. 03 Apr. 2009 .
"CJO - Abstract - The Dual Career of “Arirangâ€: The Korean Resistance Anthem That Became a Japanese Pop Hit." Cambridge Journals Online. 2007. 03 Apr. 2009 .
Einstein, Alfred. Music in the Romantic Era. New York: W W Norton & Company Inc, 1947.
Kennedy, Michael. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 3rd ed. Oxford UP, 1980.
"The Music of the Romantic Era." Connexions - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities. 19 Sept. 2008. 07 Apr. 2009 .
