부산대학교 도서관

Korean Buddhist Beompae chants are subordinate to the ritual process and have various patterns of melody, from short syllabic to long melisma, in the same way as Chinese or Taiwanese chants. But if we look in detail, we can find different features. Chinese chants have distinct forms, such as sutra recitation, poetic chanting, and the long suit form. They are usually sung or chanted all together during a ceremony. But Korean monks might sing different song patterns according to the ritual. A professional monk would sing the chants, as he is able to change the pattern freely in the ritual. Korean Buddhist monks freely reduce or extend the melody by vowel tones. But this might be done according to the meaning of the song. If the contents of the text are for bowing or expressing deep honor to Buddha or Bodhisattva directly, the chant is never reduced. So the triple refuge Samguieoi and Buddha feet Jisimsinlye usually feature a full melody with Jissori. But the vowel melody line of play or blessing songs are short and simple, and so often sung in a folk melody style. And so we know there are several styles, like Yeombul, Hotsori or Jissori. These forms are determined by the character and meaning of the song text, and relate to the importance of ritual rather than the goal of musical beauty. So if we seek to study or understand them well, we first need to take note of the role or the meaning of the chants in the ritual, because they were born out of the desire to express a religious message rather than a musical impulse.