KIM JONG IL

ON THE ART OF MUSIC

 WORKING PEOPLE OF THE WHOLE WORLD, UNITE!

KIM JONG IL
ON THE ART OF MUSIC
July 17, 1991
 CONTENTS

1. JUCHE MUSIC............................................................................................ 3
1) The Age of Juche Requires a New Type of Music................................... 3
2) Juche Is the Lifeblood of Our Music ...................................................... 15
3) Masterpieces Are Those Which Are Needed for the Revolution ............ 24
4) Music Must Be Popularized ................................................................... 32

2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION....................................................................... 40
1) Music Is an Art of Melodies ................................................................... 40
(1) Melodies Are Basic to Music ........................................................... 40
(2) Melodies Must Be Beautiful and Restrained.................................... 44
(3) Characteristic Melodies Sustain Musical Composition.................... 51
2) Stanzaic Songs Are the Basic Form of Popular Music ........................... 59
3) Combining National Instruments with Western Instruments
Is the Basic Principle of Instrumentation............................................... 65
4) Arrangement is Creative Work ............................................................... 71
(1) Arrangement Enriches Musical Composition................................... 71
(2) Arranging Musical Pieces Mainly on the Basis
of Melodies Is Our Own Style.......................................................... 73
(3) Good Planning of Arrangement Is Essential .................................... 78
(4) The Component Parts of Music Should Be Handled Properly ......... 83
(5) Accompaniment Should Be Arranged Properly ............................... 85
 CONTENTS

5) We Should Create Music of a Variety of Genres and Forms...................87

(1) Music Should Be Varied ...................................................................87
(2) Efforts Should Be Made to Create Works of Vocal Music................89
(3) Instrumental Works of Our Own Style Should Be Created ..............94
(4) The Sea of Blood-style Opera Should Be Further Developed ..........99

3. PERFORMANCE.......................................................................................105
1) Performance Is a Creative Art................................................................105
2) Performance Must Express National Sentiments and
Modern Aesthetic Feelings Properly .....................................................109
3) Individuality Must Be Stressed in Performance ....................................118
4) Music Must Be Performed with Ardour.................................................125
5) Performers Must Be Virtuosos of Creative Work..................................133
6) The Conductor Is the Commander of the Musical Group......................139

4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS..................................................148

1) Strong Reserves Are Essential for the Development
of Musical Art ........................................................................................148
2) Specially Talented Reserve Musicians Should Be Trained
on a Systematic and Scientific Basis .....................................................156
 1

Where there is life there is music, and where there is music there is life.
Music inspires people with intense ardour for life, and produces rich emotions,
throbbing vitality, hopes and optimism for the future. As such it is the most
familiar art to mankind.
Deep musical emotions arouse clear, pure and noble feelings in people, and
have long, lingering effects on their hearts. Music inspires people with strength,
courage and aspirations for the future.
Music has strong ideological and emotional influences. Such influences can
only be exerted by genuine music. Music must contribute to giving people
ideological and emotional education for developing them into independent
beings, serve their creative lives and struggle and reflect their idea of
independence. Music must be understood and enjoyed by the masses of the
people. The history of music can be said to have sought, through the
replacement of various schools of music, an answer to the basic question about
the characteristics of genuine music.
The fundamental question of the true mission, role and character of
music, the question that has been argued about throughout history, has been
given a complete answer by the Juche idea in our times. By clarifying man’s
position and role in the world in a new way and elucidating a new idea
about the motive force of social movement, the Juche idea has opened up
broad prospects for finding a scientific answer to the question of the
mission and character of music, and for fully establishing the method of
realizing them.
The era has raised before us the historic task of giving a full solution to the
theoretical question of the intrinsic nature, mission, role, content and form of
music on the basis of the Juche idea, and of providing answers to all the
theoretical and practical questions arising in the process of developing the
music of our own style, with a correct attitude towards music.
The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung evolved an original idea of
Juche-oriented art and literature in the early years of the anti-Japanese
revolutionary struggle, established the tradition of revolutionary music and
2 KIM JONG IL

wisely led the development of the art of Juche music. As a result, our
country is now in the heyday of this art. We must systematize and generalize
the glorious history of developing Juche music under his leadership as well
as the achievements and experience gained by our Party in the creation of
Juche music, so that the art of Juche music carries out successfully the
honourable mission it has assumed in our times and in service of the
revolution.
 3

1. JUCHE MUSIC

1) THE AGE OF JUCHE REQUIRES

A NEW TYPE OF MUSIC

Genuine music faithfully meets the requirements of the times and

contributes to the fulfilment of the mission of the times. This is the basic duty
of music to the times and its important role.
A historical period requires music that accords with itself, and this music
reflects the period. Music in the Middle Ages was feudal music that reflected
the socio-historical relations of feudal society, and the musical trends that
emerged in modern times reflected the historical period of the emergence of
capitalism, the bourgeois revolution and the upward spiral of capitalism. This is
the law of the development of musical history.
The present is a new historical period, when the masses’ struggle for
independence has reached the highest stage; the mission of our times is to fully
realize the masses’ desire for independence and their creative lives.
The present times when the revolutionary struggle for independence for the
masses is the trend of the period, require the development of music that
champions the people’s independence and encourages them in their struggle.
Music that suits the age of Juche, and can meet the requirements of the
Juche age and contribute to the fulfilment of its mission is Juche music. Juche
music alone can embody the essence of our times with absolute correctness and
faithfully serve the cause of the Juche age.
Juche music also agrees with the social nature of art. Because of his
independent nature, man feels satisfaction and dissatisfaction with his position
in reality. This is expressed also through the forms of art. Because of his
intrinsic nature, man requires ideological and mental strength, and aesthetic and
4 KIM JONG IL

emotional satisfaction for promoting his creative activities. Art is a powerful

means of realizing these requirements. Art is a social product which is born of
man’s desire for and consciousness of independence and creativity. It
contributes to the development of man’s independent and creative
consciousness. The social nature of art is one which reflects people’s thoughts
and feelings, gives them ideological and emotional education and encourages
them to struggle. In this era, when the masses have emerged as the masters of
the world and push ahead with the revolution and construction, music must
naturally reflect the masses’ aspirations and requirements, and serve them in
keeping with its social character.
Juche music is a new art of music in that it embodies the requirements of
the new era and the masses’ aspirations, and thoroughly serves the masses.
Juche music, as a new type of music that fully embodies the requirements of
the new era, the Juche age, and the masses’ aspirations both in its content and
form, has its own characteristics that distinguish it clearly from all the previous
art of music.
Juche music is revolutionary in content.
The masses, the motive force of social and historical development,
ceaselessly struggle to realize independence, to realize their aspiration for
independence and their desire for creation. Music must show the thoughts and
feelings of independent people who struggle to champion independence for the
masses. Only then can it be said that music embodies the masses’ aspirations
and requirements. In music, people’s thoughts and feelings are expressed as
various feelings and emotions that are experienced in their lives and struggle.
Music is a type of art that shows human thoughts and feelings as an
expression of emotions caused by internal impact. Both art and literature
express human thoughts and feelings. However, music has its own
characteristics that distinguish it from other types of art in the form of
interpretation that expresses human thoughts and feelings. Music is a special art
that shows man’s emotional experience by means of musical resonance. Music
mainly shows the feelings and emotions emanating from people’s emotional
experience and psychological impact in real life. Although it cannot tell you the
thoughts in detail, as literature does, nor can it give a visual picture of reality, as
fine arts do, music can express man’s psychological and emotional experiences
more deeply and more subtly than any other type of art.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 5

Juche music embodies the masses’ aspirations and requirements by

unfolding the deep emotional world of the noble spiritual experience and
optimistic and militant psychological excitement felt in the masses’ struggle for
independence and in their independent and creative lives.
The content of music is important. Ignoring and denying the content of
music is an expression of art for art’s sake and formalism; it is a reactionary
attempt to emasculate the healthy and revolutionary thought and content of
music in the guise of "art for art’s sake" and "pure formal beauty". If music is
devoid of progressive and revolutionary content, it not only fails to contribute
to educating people with revolutionary thoughts, but also hampers their
ideological education.
The neglect of the content of music is also due to misunderstanding of the
characteristics of expressing the content of music.
Because of the characteristics of artistic interpretation, the ideological
content of musical pieces does not come to the fore when compared to that of
literature and other types of art. Both literature and music represent life in
reality, and the human thoughts and feelings expressed in this life. Literature
describes life and human feelings by means of narrative, whereas music gives
emotional expression to human thoughts and feelings as they arise in life.
Literature shows human thoughts in detail directly through narratives and
characters’ words, and indirectly describes the movement of feelings. Music,
unlike literature, shows in detail human feelings directly as musical emotions.
In music, however, the ideological content lies under the emotions and does not
come to the fore concretely, so that it can be correctly understood only with the
help of indirect means such as the titles of musical pieces, the words of vocal
music and other aspects peculiar to music. For this reason, some people regard
music as having no thought or content, and slight it accordingly. This is very
dangerous.
No feelings can arise from a place where there is no thought, and no
emotions from a place where there are no thoughts and feelings. Therefore,
without being prompted by independent and revolutionary thoughts and a noble
spirit, it is impossible to create music that overflows with the emotions of the
times. In the past, the masses pressed ahead with their revolutionary struggle
for independence, and quite a few musical pieces reflected the revolutionary
aspirations of the masses and left positive historical traces. However, the
6 KIM JONG IL

progressive ideas reflected in music in the past were rather conservative, failed
to bring to light the truth of struggle and, in many cases, found superficial
expression in singing of nature and lauding pure beauty. Works of music that
sing of nature and pure beauty are of no great significance in the struggle of the
masses. Even when singing of nature, music must reflect people’s independent
and creative attitude towards nature; even when representing beauty, it must
show man’s innate beauty that makes him what he is, the ennobling beauty of
the thoughts and feelings of true people that fight for independence. Especially
in the present circumstances, in which imperialists and reactionaries are
tenaciously working to paralyze the fighting will and healthy revolutionary
spirit of the masses, music that sings meaninglessly about nature and extols
only pure beauty will end up opening the way for the enemy.
It is not enough for the music of our times to show the masses’ struggle
from an objective point of view.
In the past, musical pieces were created that dealt with the people’s
struggles against oppression and exploitation, the revolutionary struggle led by
the working class. They showed revolutionary conviction, heroism in the
revolutionary struggle, devotion to one’s country and fellow countrymen, hopes
for the future, and the pride and happiness of new life. All these feelings,
however, were dealt with in the context of the revolution in general, the
struggle in general, so we cannot say that they accurately represent the
requirements of our times.
Splendid feelings and emotions expressed by music must embody the basic
nature and the basic factor of the life and struggle of the masses for human
independence, the fundamental question of the revolution. Genuine music must
exalt the people who regard independence as their lifeblood, who are loyal to
their socio-political collective, and who are immortal as members of the
socio-political organism. Music must express the thoughts and feelings of these
people.
Music that expresses unbounded respect for the leader, unshakable trust in
the Party, revolutionary pride and self-confidence in receiving the leadership of
the Party and the leader as the basis of the emotions in all aspects of life, and
overflows with emotions emanating from them, emotions such as mass
heroism, self-sacrificing spirit, optimism and happiness, can embody the
masses’ aspirations and requirements for independence.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 7

The fundamental questions in the revolutionary content of Juche music are

the question of the leader and the question of the inseparable relationship of the
leader, the Party and the masses. Unfailing loyalty to the leader, which is the
core of loyalty to the Party and the working masses, is the basic content that
defines the revolutionary character of Juche music.
Juche music is people-oriented in form.
The form of Juche music is people-oriented in that it suits the emotions of
the masses, and can be understood and enjoyed by the masses. The masses of
the people are the masters of social and historical development. They are also
the masters of the development of the art of music. Only when it expresses the
thoughts and feelings of the masses in the language of music that is intelligible
to and enjoyable for the masses can music contribute to their struggle to
advance history and be genuine music for the people.
That the form of music must agree with the feelings and emotions of the
masses and be intelligible to and enjoyable for them is of great importance, as it
emanates from the characteristics of the language of music.
Musical language is unique to music; it is not used in everyday life. Literary
art uses the means of communication in everyday life as its artistic language.
The language of music, however, appeals directly to people’s hearts, without
relying on the forms of expressing meanings such as words, shapes of objects,
or people’s gestures and looks. Musical language can be understood only when
it becomes familiar to the people through the process of musical activities, and
only then can musical feelings and emotions be felt. This can be illustrated by
the fact that the specialized music of the past such as symphony and chamber
music has not acquired a large audience, and its dissemination among the
masses has remained a difficult problem for a long time.
In the past, nobody–and certainly no music–has found a correct answer to
the question of the popular character of music. Because the masses could not
occupy the position of masters in the exploitative society in the past, the
people’s music could not hold the position of master in the history of music,
and specialized professional music that served the ruling class was the main
trend. The classical professional music of the past was limited to the upper
strata of society, centring on the ruling class, even when it played some
progressive role in the forward march of mankind, and within its limits it sang
of beautiful human feelings and reflected the aspirations of the period. The
8 KIM JONG IL

progressive character of classical professional music did not go beyond the fact
that it sympathized with the people from the point of view of the upper class,
recognized the people’s creative talent to some extent, adopted elements of
people’s music and used them to cater to the tastes of the privileged class and
professionals. Classical professional music that was the main trend in the
history of music was connected with the leisurely, luxurious lives of the upper
class, and was difficult for the masses to understand. In the period of
imperialism, it shut its eyes to the people’s thoughts and feelings, and its
language became even more unintelligible to the masses. Meanwhile,
imperialists cunningly misused the elements of music which came from the
people for extremely reactionary purposes and spread “popular music” to
corrupt the masses and paralyze their fighting spirit, using it as an instrument to
oppress, exploit and enslave the masses.
The popular character of progressive music in previous ages and its spirit of
serving the people were limited to its sympathy for them and to the adoption of
the forms of the people’s music from the point of view of professionals. This
music asserted the need to inherit the classical traditions of professional music,
and took over the expert-oriented and outmoded pattern of classical
professional music. In the last analysis, the popular character of progressive
music in previous ages meant no more than supporting and sympathizing with
the people from outside the people and making use of the elements of the
people’s music by music which had no real connection with the people. In the
sense that it was expert-oriented music, it did not differ, in essence, from the
popular character of the classical professional music of the past. It is impossible
to think of the popular character of music of which the people are not masters,
which does not serve the people, and which is not intelligible to the people.
Today, when the masses have emerged as the masters of the revolution, the
expert-oriented and outmoded pattern of the professional music of the past must
be thoroughly overcome.
Music that is liked only by experts and is not intelligible to the broad
working masses is useless. If the music of our times were expert-oriented, and
ignored the understanding of the broad masses, it would be rejected by the
people and would be unable to play any role in the revolution and construction.
The form of music, to be thoroughly people-oriented, must acquire a mass
character and simplicity. We must eradicate all unprincipled worship of the
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 9

classical music of the past and develop new classical music with simplicity,
which is capable of meeting the requirements of our times. Only then can
classical music become a form of genuine music that can educate people
ideologically and emotionally, and encourage them to struggle.
In order to ensure the mass character and simplicity of music, we must
promote a healthy and ennobling development of the form of popular music
which is liked by the broad masses. The mass character and simplicity we speak
of have nothing in common with the popular music and simple music of the old
society. In the old society, the term “popular music” or “simple music” used to
mean vulgar music, degenerate music sung in the street, or cheap music sung in
public houses and restaurants, to distinguish them from specialized professional
music, which was regarded as “noble” music.
An important principle of Juche music is to develop the forms of classical
music and popular music with emphasis on simplicity from the point of view of
the people.
For a healthy development of mass music, we must prevent the infiltration
of corrupt “pop music” spread by the imperialists and reject the slightest
elements that stimulate vulgar and unhealthy hedonism, and eccentric and
degenerate tastes. Only then is it possible to create noble mass music that meets
the masses’ aspirations, is agreeable to their feelings and can advance with the
times.
The mass character and simplicity of our music are major factors that define
the noble mission and revolutionary and people-oriented character of Juche
music, which contributes to the masses’ revolutionary struggle by reflecting
their thoughts and feelings in keeping with the social nature of music. The mass
character and simplicity of Juche music presuppose a noble artistic quality.
Ensuring the mass character and simplicity of Juche music does not mean
lowering the artistic level of music. Juche music raises the artistic level to the
utmost, while fully ensuring its mass character and simplicity.
The social function of Juche music that serves the masses is performed
thoroughly in keeping with the characteristics of the artistic rendition of music.
Music has its share in educating the masses along revolutionary lines and
rousing them to the struggle.
Music is a noble art that inspires people with rich emotions, throbbing
vivacity and intense ardour.
10 KIM JONG IL

Music enriches people’s emotions.

A man cannot live only with thoughts and knowledge. If he is to raise the
level of his consciousness and steadily transform himself, he must develop rich
emotions in addition to acquiring revolutionary thoughts and accumulating a
profound knowledge of nature and society.
Sound and rich emotions not only add lustre to life, but ennoble people’s
sentiments and purify their minds and morals. A man with rich emotions loves
his fellows dearly, and tries to live a noble and worthwhile life.
Music, which has a strong impact on people’s hearts and provides them with
emotional excitement, beautifies and enriches their emotions. Music that does
not inspire people with rich emotions, music that lacks emotions, cannot be
called music. If music follows only a mathematical logic and slights beautiful
and rich human emotions, it will not only be unintelligible to the masses, but
become abstract, be divorced from genuine human nature, and fail to perform
its real function. Music that is rich in emotion can contribute to educating the
masses in revolutionary thoughts and emotions, and to making their lives joyful
and cheerful.
Music infuses throbbing vitality into people’s lives.
Throbbing vitality stimulates people with the joy of life and optimism. The
joy of life and optimism increase the people’s pride in their independent lives
and strengthen their aspirations to brighten their genuine lives. Throbbing
vitality makes social life lively and full of revolutionary stamina.
Music has a unique power to give people vitality. While listening to music,
people are sometimes carried away by it in spite of themselves, and become
lost in deep meditation, sometimes feel cheerful and bubble over with
enthusiasm, and sometimes overflow with fighting spirit and courage, and want
to rush into the vanguard of struggle. This patently proves what a vital impact
music has on people.
Music that cannot infuse throbbing vitality into people is not music in
the true sense of the word. Music that stimulates pathos, pessimism,
vulgarity, eccentric pleasure and licence paralyzes people’s sound
consciousness. Such degenerate music has nothing to do with the thoughts
and feelings of the true people who regard independence as their lifeblood.
It is reactionary in that it dampens people’s aspirations for independence
and creation. Music can only be healthy and ennobling, and perform its
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 11

social function when it inspires people with throbbing viability.

Music infuses intense ardour into people.
Ardour strengthens people’s creative activities. No matter how high the
level of his ideological consciousness, a man cannot display his creativity
unless he has intense ardour. A man without ardour cannot succeed in anything
he does. A man with ardour can work with vigour, display creativity and break
through obstacles and difficulties without hesitation. Intense ardour for one’s
work is a noble quality that is required of revolutionaries.
Music has warmth that sets people’s hearts afire. It might be said that music
is an art of ardour that directly appeals to human hearts. Music that inspires
people’s hearts directly with intense ardour rouses them to creativity. Music
that cannot inspire people with intense ardour is dead music; music that cannot
rouse people is valueless. Music that does not accord with the thoughts and
feelings of the times and runs counter to the aesthetic feelings of the times
cannot inspire people with ardour. That is why the music of the idle and
stultified ruling class of the feudal age cannot advance our times. Genuine
music capable of infusing intense ardour into people’s minds and rousing them
to the revolution and construction can only come from the hearts of composers
that have warmly experienced revolutionary reality.
Juche music excellently performs its social function in keeping with the
characteristics of music, and thus plays an important role in educating people
and developing them to be independent and creative. When profound ideas ring
out from rich emotions, throbbing vitality and intense ardour which overflow
music, its informative and educational function is incomparably great.
Not all music in history has played a positive social role. Depending on its
social and class character, music can play a positive and progressive role or a
negative and reactionary role. Music came into being in the process of people’s
creative working life, but it has developed through an acute class struggle
between the masses who advance history and the reactionary class which
obstructs historical progress. In the course of the development of music, the
masses have always played a positive role in keeping with the social nature of
music, whereas the reactionaries have always restrained and obstructed its
development. Because of class antagonism and complex social relations in the
course of social progress, all the music of the exploitative society in the past
was accompanied by the struggle between what was progressive and
12 KIM JONG IL

people-oriented and what was outmoded and reactionary. Even people-oriented

music in the past could not but reflect the immaturity of socio-historical
development and the complexity of class relations. Especially, as the deluge of
decadent music of all descriptions in the period of imperialism shows, the
reactionary offensive against music is now very tenacious, cunning and crafty,
and the struggle between the progressive and the reactionary is growing acuter.
Only Juche music, of which the masses are the masters, and which serves
them, can not only sweep away all that is reactionary and runs counter to the
people’s aspirations, but also thoroughly overcome everything that is
unintelligible to the people and is not agreeable to their feelings, and thus
become the genuine music of the Juche age, a new age of the masses’
independent and creative struggle.
Revolutionary and people-oriented Juche music, which truthfully reflects
the requirements of the times and the people’s aspirations, and truly serves the
masses, is based on the revolutionary musical tradition. The revolutionary
tradition of the art of music in our country was established in the years of the
anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, when classic masterpieces and
anti-Japanese musical pieces were created and disseminated.
With deep insight into the function and role of the art of music in educating
the anti-Japanese guerrillas and the people along revolutionary lines and in
encouraging them to pursue the revolutionary struggle, the great leader
Comrade Kim Il Sung created revolutionary songs, revolutionary operas and
many other classic masterpieces. Thus he opened up a new epoch of Juche
music and established the brilliant tradition of a revolutionary art of music. The
music of the anti-Japanese revolution is the historical root and lasting
foundation of Juche music. It is an impeccable example of the most
revolutionary and people-oriented art of music that embodied the Juche idea for
the first time in the development of music in our country. Our people are a
resourceful and talented people with a history of thousands of years and a
resplendent culture. Many of the folk songs, the products of the people’s
collective wisdom, and other parts of the heritage of our national music are so
beautiful and superb that they are worthy of world admiration. In the past,
however, our people were unable to create revolutionary music that reflected
the fundamental question arising in overthrowing the old society and effecting a
social change because of the fetters of feudalism, the historical conditions of
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 13

the colonial society under Japanese imperialism, and their ideological and
aesthetic immaturity. They only expressed their feelings and simple wishes for
the future in beautiful and gentle melodies. Although some musicians were said
to have engaged in proletarian musical activities in the 1930s, they were unable
to hand down what might be called Party music or working-class music.
The revolutionary tradition of our music was established as a result of the
creation of classical masterpieces and other works of anti-Japanese
revolutionary music that gave an absolutely correct answer to the fundamental
question urgently raised in the Korean people’s struggle for their national
independence, class liberation and human emancipation. The music of the
anti-Japanese revolution truthfully expressed its revolutionary and socialist
content in a national and popular form, and combined its lofty ideological
qualities with noble artistic ones. That is why it serves as an example of the
revolutionary art of music and as a valuable foundation for the development of
Juche music. The music of the anti-Japanese revolution expressed its
revolutionary content in a succinct and simple form, and had sublime
ideological and artistic qualities, so that it was sung with relish by everyone,
and it inspired people with revolutionary ideas, an unbreakable fighting spirit,
strength, courage and intense ardour. It thereby greatly contributed to the
victory of the cause of the anti-Japanese revolution. Because we had this
practical example and rich experience, we were able to build, develop and
enrich Juche music successfully in a short period after liberation. This was the
music of Juche that accords with the requirements of the period and the
people’s aspirations, and truly serves the revolution and construction.
The variety of genres and forms of the music of the anti-Japanese revolution
is the strong foundation and valuable wealth with which to develop our Juche
music to full flowering in greater breadth and richness.
The Star of Korea, a classical revolutionary song that truthfully
represented the noble thoughts and feelings of the anti-Japanese
revolutionary fighters, and all the Korean people who held the great leader
in high esteem as the centre of unity and as the Sun of our nation, various
other lyrical songs, military marches, songs with numerical and literal
illustrations, satirical songs, dance music, round-dance songs, children’s
play songs and all the other genres of musical art, along with the tradition of
revolutionary song and dance and revolutionary opera, were created in the
14 KIM JONG IL

trying years of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle.

Juche music, which originated in the music of the anti-Japanese revolution,
continued to develop under the wise guidance of our Party. Our Party opened
up a new epoch of Sea of Blood-style opera in this land by giving wise
guidance to the work of adapting to operas of our times the classical
masterpieces created by the great leader during his anti-Japanese revolutionary
struggle. It also brought about a great change in the creation of masterpieces of
songs and in the creation of people-oriented instrumental music. It has thus laid
a solid foundation for developing the tradition of Juche music in greater depth
and breadth, and for the continuous flowering of Juche music. Our music,
which has seen brilliant development under our Party’s wise leadership, has
gained the hearts of the people as well as worldwide renown as the true
example of Juche music. Never in the history of our country has the art of
music flowered so beautifully as it has today. This is a precious achievement of
our Party in developing art and literature.
In order to continue to develop the art of Juche music to new levels, we
must step up the Party’s guidance of the art of music. The Party is the General
Staff and guiding force that organizes and leads the revolution and construction
to victory. The cause of building the art of Juche music can only be carried out
successfully under the Party’s leadership. The art of music can develop
successfully only when it takes the leader’s revolutionary thought as the basis
of its world outlook and is guided by a correct idea and theory that indicate the
way of its development. The Party not only equips musicians with the leader’s
revolutionary thought and the idea of Juche-oriented art and literature, its
embodiment, but also sets forth a correct line and policy of art and literature in
each period of revolutionary development, encourages them to its
implementation and thus leads the cause of building the art of Juche music to
brilliant victory. The cause of building the art of Juche music is the cause of
developing a new type of musical art that is truly revolutionary and
people-oriented, so it cannot but be accompanied by an acute class struggle
against outmoded forms of music. In the present circumstances, in which the
class enemies at home and abroad are stepping up their machinations, it is all
the more important to intensify the Party’s leadership of the art of music in
order to prevent the infiltration of revisionist music and all other unhealthy
musical trends spread by class enemies, and develop the art of Juche music on a
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 15

sound basis. By strengthening the Party’s leadership of the art of music we

must ensure that, whatever the wind and wherever it blows from, our art of
music flowers more beautifully as the art of Juche music capable of preserving
its nature clearly as a truly revolutionary and people-oriented art of music.
Strengthening the Party’s guidance of the art of music is the decisive guarantee
for the development of Juche music as well as the way for our music to make
an excellent contribution to our revolution and serve our people with great
credit.

2) JUCHE IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR MUSIC

We must establish the Juche orientation in music in order to develop the art
of music in keeping with the requirements of the era and the people’s
aspirations.
By the establishment of the Juche orientation in music, I mean creating and
developing music that accords with the thoughts, feelings and emotions of
one’s own people, and contributes to the revolution in one’s own country.
Since the revolution and construction are carried out within the unit of a
nation-state, the art of music must accord with the thoughts, feelings and
emotions of the people of the country, and contribute to the revolution in that
country. It has been said that music knows no national boundaries and that
music should be a “global” art that transcends national or state relations. This is
nonsense emanating from the reactionary view of modern bourgeois
theoreticians who advocate cosmopolitanism. So long as there exist countries
and nations, and people’s feelings and emotions vary from country to country,
music cannot stand above national boundaries. It is true that nations have much
in common with regard to the language of music. This does not mean, however,
that music knows no national boundaries. Although the musical language is
common to different nations, its use and application reflect the feelings and
tastes of the people of the country concerned. The music of each country,
therefore, has its boundary, and there can be no “global” music that does not
belong to any nation. This means that the true way of developing music in our
16 KIM JONG IL

age lies in establishing the Juche orientation in music and creating music that
accords with the thoughts, feelings and emotions of one’s own people and
contributes to the revolution in one’s own country.
Today, the revolutionary art of music of the working class finds itself in
sharp confrontation with the reactionary art of music of the bourgeoisie, and the
latter’s offensive and challenge against the former are growing more intensive
as the days go by. Reactionary bourgeois musicians produce decadent musical
pieces of all descriptions and spread them to obstruct the development of
revolutionary and people-oriented music. Meanwhile, the revisionists are
working viciously hand in hand with them to corrupt the revolutionary art of
music of the working class. But in spite of the machinations of the class
enemies, the art of our Juche music preserves its class character as truly
revolutionary and people-oriented music, and shines as a brilliant example of
the art of socialist music. This is the result of our having thoroughly
implemented our Party’s policy of developing the art of music in our own way
under the banner of Juche, no matter what wind may blow and from whatever
quarter.
Establishing the Juche orientation is a sure guarantee for developing our
music to meet our people’s demands and in the interests of our revolution. Only
when we raise high the banner of Juche can we strengthen the revolutionary
character of our music and continue to develop the art of music. Juche is,
indeed, the lifeblood of our music.
Maintaining the standpoint of Juche is the basic principle of developing the
art of music in our own way. Music, to be suited to our people’s thoughts and
feelings and the specific situation in our country, must be developed in a
creative way from the standpoint of Juche.
National music must be the main component of music. Developing music
with the main emphasis on its national character is the way to establish the
Juche orientation in the art of music and ensure that music wins the hearts of
the people.
All progressive musical works bear national characteristics. The national
music of a country contains traditional music that has been shaped and
developed throughout history and also exotic music that has been adopted
through cultural exchanges with other countries. The exotic elements are
assimilated to national music in the course of time, reflecting the nation’s
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 17

emotional requirements and aesthetic tastes, and gradually acquiring national

character. In the broad sense of the word, therefore, national music comprises
all the musical works developed in keeping with the emotions and feelings of
the nation. But when we say that we develop national music with the main
emphasis on its national character we imply music that is peculiar to each
nation.
Each nation has its own traditional music. National music constitutes the
basic component of the art of music of each nation. National music is the
traditional music of a nation which has been shaped, handed down and
developed throughout history, reflecting the unique character and special
qualities of national life. No music is better suited to the psychological features,
sentiments and tastes of one’s nation than one’s national music. National music
preserves the traces of the life of the nation and the peculiar complexion of the
nation.
Our country leads the world in developing music. Our intelligent and
talented people have made various national musical instruments and created
and developed traditional music, singing of their wishes and feelings since the
remote past.
Our national music is more elegant and delicate than Western music. There
is no equal to our national music in giving vivid emotional expression to the
feelings of our people. Our national instruments also have unique
characteristics. Especially the clear and plaintive timbre of our national
woodwinds and the soft and elegant sounds of our national stringed instruments
are unique. No foreign instruments can take the place of our national
instruments in terms of their unique sounds and the delicate skills needed to
play them. Music performed on our national instruments sounds exclusively our
own, whether its tone colours are bright or dark, but music performed on
Western instruments does not. Our national music and our national instruments,
that accord with our people’s emotions and tastes, should be the main
components of our music.
We should promote both our national music and Western music. We need
not depreciate or discard at this stage of history the elements of Western music
and Western instruments that have become our own in the course of their
development in the context of Korean music. The point is how we should make
use of them.
18 KIM JONG IL

Western music and Western instruments should be thoroughly subordinated

to the demands of Korean music. If we use them in our own way for the
production of musical pieces that accord with the feelings of our people, there
will be no problem. Western instruments are acceptable if they are used to
perform Korean music and sustain our national sentiments. Establishing the
Juche orientation in music means developing our national music and
instruments in the main and subordinating Western music and instruments to
them.
The development of Juche music should be based on national melodies.
National music is valuable cultural wealth that enshrines the talent and soul
of the nation. It serves as the basis of the resplendent flowering of the art of
socialist music. Socialist culture can never be created from scratch. It is created
by critically inheriting and developing the heritage of national culture.
National melodies are the mainstays of national music. Music can acquire
national characteristics and establish the Juche orientation only when it is based
on national melodies.
Basing music on national melodies means sustaining the characteristics of
national melodies in musical emotions and in the form of musical expression.
The national characteristics of music find concrete expression in musical
emotions and in the form of its expression. National melodies represent
emotions unique to national music as well as the form of its expression.
Since the remote past our people have liked clear, elegant, restrained and yet
profound music, and also been partial to gentle and beautiful melodies. This is a
concrete expression of our nation’s sentiments concerning music. Our national
melodies have unique characteristics not only in their emotions but also in their
tonality, beat, tone and the techniques of developing melodies. Basing music on
our national melodies is the way to sustain the characteristics of our nation in the
sphere of music.
Developing music on the basis of our national melodies should not be
understood as simply reviving the folk melodies of the past, just as they were.
We must discard backward elements of melodies and discover new elements of
melodies capable of vividly expressing the feelings of our contemporaries, and
continue to develop our national melodies. This is the law of the development
of national melodies. We must sustain both the peculiar and the new elements
of national melodies with regard to musical emotions and the form of their
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 19

expression. Only then can we say that we have sustained the basis of national
melodies.
We must encourage traditional national music, which can contribute to the
establishment of the Juche orientation in the art of music.
Folk songs are basic parts of traditional national music. Folk songs are the
cream of national music, fully representing the good qualities of national music.
Folk songs are truly the people’s songs that accord with their national
sentiments and feelings.
In our country there are many folk songs which are characteristic of
different regions. Korean folk songs, which have been sung widely by our
people and handed down for ages, reflect our national sentiments and feelings
to the full in a succinct and refined musical form. Even today, our people like
folk songs. We must unearth the valuable folk songs that our ancestors liked to
sing, and make a good study of them to develop them more beautifully in our
era.
We must also encourage the use of national instruments.
National instruments are important means for creating national music. We
must make active use of national woodwinds, national stringed instruments and
others in the creation of musical works. We must compose solos, duets, trios
and the like and orchestral music to be performed with national instruments,
and increase their proportion in the combination of instruments and in musical
arrangement. Effective use of percussion instruments like janggo (an
hourglass-shaped drum–Tr.) is also needed to sustain the beat, liveliness and
style of our national music.
Although we encourage national music, we must curb the tendency to return
to the past. We must guard against both a nihilistic approach to the heritage of
national culture and the tendency to return to the past. Rejecting this backward
tendency is a basic policy our Party maintains in developing socialist national
culture.
National music, because it has emerged and has developed in class society,
retains class and social limitations. We must not revive every element of the
heritage of national culture indiscriminately. Musical pieces that catered to the
tastes of the exploiting class in the past are not worthy of being inherited. Even
folk songs created by the people may contain backward elements. We must
discriminate between progressive, popular elements and outmoded, reactionary
20 KIM JONG IL

elements in the musical heritage of our nation, discard the outmoded and
reactionary, and preserve the progressive and popular, while modifying or
developing them, to meet our contemporary class requirements and aesthetic
tastes.
To develop national music in keeping with modern aesthetic tastes is the
requirement of our times. We must develop national music that accords with the
thoughts, feelings and emotions of the people of the revolutionary era.
We must make a good job of discovering folk songs and rendering them
anew.
The folk songs of the western provinces occupy an important place in the
folk music of our country. The melodies of these folk songs are soft, beautiful,
fluent, full of national emotions, and easy to understand and sing. Quite a few
folk songs native to the east-coast region have soft and beautiful melodies. We
should resurrect all such folk songs and re-render them to suit modern aesthetic
tastes. This is an important requirement for making our folk songs flower more
beautifully.
We should give priority to the folk songs of the western provinces, while
reviving the good folk songs of the southern provinces. Quite a few folk songs
of the southern provinces are among those widely known throughout the
country in the past. We cannot say, of course, that all of them were liked and
sung by the people with relish. Some of them were like outmoded phansori or
sijo (a poetic style developed in Korea in the 14th century–Tr.) that were
delivered in a rasping tone in the past. We should take these things into
consideration in dealing with the folk songs of the southern provinces, and
re-produce and re-render those which are clearly characteristic and valuable to
cater to the aesthetic tastes of our contemporaries, as we do with those of the
western provinces.
While sustaining their original timbre, we should smooth over those
elements which are too complicated or too jagged, and eliminate the husky
voice. Folk songs of the southern provinces also need clear, gentle and soft
rendition.
Ongheya re-rendered by the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, is a
representative folk song of the southern provinces that has been successfully
re-rendered to cater to modern aesthetic tastes in the style of rendering the folk
songs of the western provinces while its original tone colour is sustained.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 21

The folk-song rendition of the western provinces we speak of has a meaning

that differs from that of the past. The western-provinces style of folk-song
rendition has a comprehensive meaning concerning our own style of folk-song
rendition that has been created by implementing our Party’s policy of
developing Juche-oriented national music since liberation rather than a narrow
concept that involves the geographical distribution of folk songs. If we make
good use of our own style of folk-song rendition by sustaining its character, we
can re-render the folk songs of the southern provinces to cater to our people’s
tastes and emotions while preserving their original timbre.
We must work hard to unearth sound and educational folk songs of the
southern provinces, along with those of the western provinces, re-create and
re-render them in our own style in keeping with modern aesthetic tastes, enrich
the treasure house of our national music and, on the basis of this, develop the
art of Juche music.
Folk songs should be re-created and re-rendered to cater to the aesthetic
tastes of our contemporaries.
The words of the folk songs of the past contain Chinese-style phrases and
archaic expressions. Such folk songs should be paraphrased in more familiar
words and new expressions in keeping with our contemporary aesthetic tastes.
Their melodies, too, should be musically polished and refined. The style of
their rendition should also be renewed with a variety of accompaniment so as to
cater to the feelings of our contemporaries.
New folk-song-style songs should be created on the basis of traditional folk
songs. In the old days, those songs which had reached the acme of perfection in
the course of being sung widely among the people down through history without
going through the hands of particular writers and composers, were called folk
songs. Nowadays, however, folk songs should not be defined in that way. Even
the songs created by professional musicians can be called folk songs if they have
distinct characteristics of national melodies, stimulate national sentiments and are
sung widely among the people. They can be called such in the sense that they
have become folk songs. The folk-song-style songs that have caught the hearts of
our people are all new folk songs of our age. Folk songs should be regarded as
developing with the times, not as stopping at any particular point in history. We
must create a lot of folk-song-style songs that can be called folk songs of our
times, on the basis of a new understanding of folk songs.
22 KIM JONG IL

Improving national musical instruments on modern lines is very important

in developing national music in keeping with modern aesthetic tastes.
Our national instruments have clear and beautiful tone colours as well as a
rich force of expression, but some of them that were made in the old days lack
volume and clarity. These shortcomings must be removed while sustaining the
unique characteristics and merits of national instruments. The modernization of
national instruments and elimination of their defects will make it possible to
render the music of our times excellently with our national instruments and
develop national music so that it accords with our people’s aesthetic feelings.
The re-interpretation of folk songs and the modernization of national
instruments must not lead to the loss of their unique characteristics.
Preserving the original qualities of national music is important in
developing national music. Failure to preserve its original qualities will result
in a medley of music. Our people do not like a hodgepodge of music that is
neither Korean nor Western.
Catering to modern aesthetic tastes while sustaining the original qualities of
national music is the way to develop national music that is appropriate to our
times. In developing national music, we must not emphasize only modernity
and ignore the historical aspect, and vice versa. The re-creation and
re-interpretation of folk songs must sustain their characteristics and the
reflection of their times; in the modernization of national instruments we must
preserve their original tune colours and shapes.
To establish the Juche orientation in music we must adopt foreign
achievements and experience in music with discrimination.
Establishing the Juche orientation in music does not mean ignoring and
rejecting foreign things indiscriminately. For the rapid development of music in
our country, we should adopt good things from foreign music.
The development of the electronics industry has produced electronic
musical instruments in many parts of the world. On the basis of these
instruments, modern music is making a new advance. The application of
modern scientific achievements is raising the level of three-dimensional
musical interpretation. If we shut our eyes to this trend of musical progress, we
shall be unable to promote our music to the world standard.
When adopting foreign achievements and experience in music, we must not
adopt everything blindly or swallow them whole, but critically introduce them
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 23

and digest them until they become our own. No matter how good foreign music
may be, it cannot, as it stands, be agreeable to our situation and our people’s
tastes.
We must establish the Juche orientation in modernizing music. We must
make use of electronic instruments in the way that is appropriate to our music,
and develop modern music in our own style. The music of the Pochonbo
Electronic Ensemble is liked by the people because the Ensemble performs our
music with electronic instruments skilfully in our own style.
Up until recently, people thought that electronic instruments could only be
used to play rock, disco, or jazz music. It is true that there are electronic
ensembles in capitalist countries which specialize in playing wild music. They
deform music and paralyze people’s healthy ideas and consciousness. There is
no need, however, to reject electronic instruments simply because some
electronic ensembles have harmful effects on people in capitalist countries. The
point at issue is not the electronic instruments themselves, the means of musical
rendition, but what music they perform and how.
Electronic instruments, a product of the latest developments of science and
technology, can regulate tone colours and volumes in a broad spectrum.
Effective use of them can ensure the desired width and depth of musical
rendition.
We must adhere to the principle of adopting and using electronic
instruments to create and develop music in our own style and in keeping with
our people’s tastes and emotions. Revolutionary and sound pieces of music
rendered with electronic instruments to suit the sentiments of our nation will
capture the hearts of the people.
The music of the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble is a brilliant example of
the creation of Korean music capable of catering to the tastes and emotions of
our people by using electronic instruments to meet our own musical
requirements. The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble is characterized by its
performance of beautiful, healthy and emotional music sustaining mainly our
soft and noble melodies in step with Korean beat, instead of making harsh,
twisted and noisy sounds that hang mainly on rhythms.
The experience of the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble shows that the
maintenance of the Juche standpoint to meet our requirements even in
developing modern music in step with the world trend is the way to create
24 KIM JONG IL

music that can contribute to the revolution in our country and capture our
people’s hearts.
Harbouring illusions about foreign music and mechanically copying it are
expressions of sycophancy and dogmatism. If we permit sycophancy and
dogmatism into the field of music, we will be unable to prevent the infiltration
of bourgeois and revisionist music nor will we be able to develop our music on
revolutionary lines and on a sound basis. We must hold fast to the standpoint of
Juche, and adopt the achievements and experience of foreign music critically to
develop our music to suit the specific situation in our country and our people’s
feelings.
In the field of musical art, we should steer classical music in the classical
direction while following the modern trend of music.
We need both modern music, such as that developed by the Pochonbo
Electronic Ensemble and classical music as performed by the Mansudae Art
Troupe. Our classical music that struck root and has grown up in our soil
should be kept consistently as it is. If we give up our classical music that has
been developed by our Party with great efforts, on the grounds that we have to
create a new type of music, it will amount to abandoning the history of our
music.
In order to pioneer new music like that of the Pochonbo Electronic
Ensemble and continue to develop our classical music, each art troupe must
keep its characteristics. Only when different art troupes do so, and opera,
music-and-dance shows, traditional national music and classical music advance
along their own paths, can our music develop in greater breadth and with
greater variety.

3) MASTERPIECES ARE THOSE WHICH

ARE NEEDED FOR THE REVOLUTION

Masterpieces rouse people to the revolutionary struggle and the work of

construction and remain long in history, along with significant events that have
played a great role in social progress.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 25

Star of Korea, a revolutionary paean, which was created in the initial period
of the revolutionary cause of Juche, rallied a large number of young
communists and revolutionaries around the leader, and roused the people to the
anti-Japanese struggle for national liberation. The Song of General
Kim Il Sung, an immortal revolutionary hymn, which was created after
liberation, gave our people powerful encouragement in the struggle for the
building of a new country, for the victory of the Fatherland Liberation War, and
for the accomplishment of the revolutionary cause of Juche.
The revolutionary song, Guerrilla March, and other masterpieces, which
were created during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, are symbols of
their period that remind us of the historic events of the revolutionary struggle
against the Japanese imperialists. The Song of Ploughing, Victorious May, and
other masterpieces created in the days immediately after liberation arouse in us
again the thrill we experienced during the days of the democratic reforms and
democratic construction during the period of peaceful construction. The
wartime masterpieces such as To a Decisive Battle, Mungyong Pass, and My
Song in the Trench tell of the historic events of the fierce Fatherland liberation
War.
A masterpiece is literally a famous work composed with great skill.
We must not try to seek the definition of a masterpiece either in the “logic
of forms” or the “purity of art" nor in ephemeral popularity emanating from
fashion.
The essence of masterpieces must always be defined with the focus mainly
on man, and on the basis of the aesthetic feelings and requirements of
independent people, and the role of music in their creative activities.
A masterpiece is a piece of music that sounds better and more impressive
the more we listen to it. Only such musical pieces have the value of
masterpieces.
The fact that a piece of music sounds better the more people listen to it
means that it represents their thoughts and feelings.
Music expresses man’s thoughts and feelings, in keeping with his
requirements and aesthetic tastes. Man creates music and enjoys it. Since man
is a conscious and independent being, he creates music with a conscious desire
to express his will to live independently and to enjoy it himself.
Only when a piece of music echoes people’s thoughts and feelings can it
26 KIM JONG IL

give people aesthetic pleasure and satisfaction, and stimulate their desire to
listen to it over and over again.
The masses of the people are the motive force for the creation and
development of music. Therefore, whether or not a piece of music meets the
masses’ aspirations and demands and their aesthetic tastes should be the
criterion for a masterpiece, and a piece of music that is liked by everyone
should be defined as a masterpiece. That a piece of music sounds better the
more it is listened to means that it accords with the masses’ aspirations and
feelings, and is liked by everyone.
That a work of music is very impressive means that it remains long in
people’s consciousness and, with emotional echoes, acts on the development of
their consciousness and on their creative activities.
Man is not only a conscious and independent being, but also a creative
being who transforms nature, society and himself by enhancing his
consciousness. He makes active use of various forms of social consciousness in
his creative activities and acquires from them a variety of knowledge needed
for the transformation of nature and society as well as ideological sustenance
and mental power for elevating his ideological consciousness. Music has a
great impact on people’s ideological and emotional education, stimulating them
to engage in creative activity and enriching their thoughts and feelings.
If music is to play the role of encouraging and educating people in their
creative activities, it must remain long in their consciousness. Because
masterpieces give strong impressions to their listeners, they can be a powerful
means of enriching people’s thoughts and feelings, and actively contributing to
their creative activities.
Masterpieces are rich in ideological and artistic qualities. Only works of
music rich in ideological and artistic qualities can be called masterpieces.
Ideological quality is the first criterion of a masterpiece.
Ideological quality is the essential element of the art of Juche music. It is
the basic factor that enables music to make a powerful contribution to the
revolution. It follows that music without ideological quality is useless.
The basic theme that must be tackled by the art of Juche music is the theme
of the leader.
In dealing with the theme of the leader, we must find a correct solution to
the problem of the revolutionary outlook on the leader. This outlook constitutes
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 27

the essence of the revolutionary content of musical works.

The leader’s position and role in historical development, the basic factor in
the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party and the masses, the inseparable
ties between the leader and the masses, and the people’s loyalty and dutiful
attitude towards the leader, which are based on their revolutionary
morality–these are the important problems of ideological theme that require
preferential solutions. Our music must exalt the great leader’s glorious
revolutionary history, the greatness of his revolutionary achievement, and the
sagacity of his leadership and his noble virtues. It must also resound with warm
reverence for and unfailing loyalty to the leader, and unshakable faith and will
to follow him to the end. This is the way to produce masterpieces that can play
a great role in uniting our people solidly behind the Party and the leader, and in
accomplishing his revolutionary cause.
What is important in the content of the ideological theme of the art of
revolutionary music is to mirror Party policy with great skill. Producing a lot of
songs that reflect Party policy is our Party’s consistent policy, which is reflected
in the creation of music.
The Party’s policies are the embodiment of the leader’s revolutionary
thoughts as well as concrete ways to accomplish his revolutionary cause.
Works of music which mirror Party policy play a great role in giving Party
members and working people a profound understanding of the Party’s policies,
and rousing them to carry out these policies.
Works of music should reflect Party policy in depth and, on the basis of this,
opportunely mirror pressing and significant problems arising in the course of
revolution and construction. Only then can the works of music give Party
members and working people a profound understanding of the correctness and
unconquerable vitality of the Party’s policies and the great reality in which
these policies are implemented and of the bright future, and encourage them to
join the struggle to carry them out.
Works of music should have a varied content for the revolutionary
education of the Party members and working people such as education in
revolutionary traditions, class education and education in socialist patriotism.
Works of music must show clearly the heroic struggle, lives and noble
spiritual world of independent people.
Independent people are new-type people who are distinguished from people
28 KIM JONG IL

in general. They are new Juche-type people who have grasped the law of
historical development on the basis of their outlook on the leader and are
awakened to class consciousness. They struggle to brighten their independent
and creative lives.
There are lots of living examples of typical, independent people who have
emerged on the thorny path of the Korean revolution that has been carried on
for a long time under the banner of Juche. The anti-Japanese revolutionary
struggle, the two stages of revolutionary struggle for democracy and socialism
after liberation, and the struggle for national reunification, which have been
carried out under the leadership of the great leader, are a great revolutionary
struggle to realize the cause of Juche of the masses of the people, the
independent motive force of history. Our music must deal truthfully with the
noble spiritual world and simple, optimistic lives of the heroes who have
distinguished themselves in these struggles.
In order to express the ideological content of songs clearly, it is necessary to
write the words of the songs with great skill. Since the words directly and
concretely reflect people’s lives and express the ideological content of themes,
they have decisive significance in making the content of songs revolutionary.
Good words are the prerequisite for good musical compositions. For a song to
be a masterpiece with revolutionary content, its words must be written in such a
way that they have a high ideological quality.
The musical emotions of a song must agree with the revolutionary content
of its words.
Tuning musical emotions to the revolutionary content does not mean only
roaring or shouting. Songs with revolutionary content may harmonize with
militant emotions, as in the case of a march, with lyrical emotions, with bright,
soft or elegant emotions, or with sad or heroic emotions. All these musical
emotions, however, must be healthy, noble, exuberant and profound, so that
they agree with the revolutionary content of the words. Decadent, mean, drab
and flippant emotions have nothing in common with revolutionary content.
Musical emotions should be profound, have lingering effects on the listeners
and rouse deep thoughts in them. The musical emotions of our times must throb
with the spirit of the times and vibrate with overflowing stamina so as to be
fresh.
Revolutionary music must resound with intense ardour. Musical ardour is
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 29

the expression of the composer’s strong assertion of reality and his strong
appeal to the listeners. Music that lacks ardour cannot emphasize the
ideological theme of the work.
High artistic quality is a hallmark of masterpieces.
A high ideological quality alone is not enough to make a masterpiece.
Artistic quality is the basic criterion of art.
Artistic quality is essential for the performance of the social function of
music. Music gives the listeners pleasure and strong impressions because it has
artistic quality along with ideological quality. People would not listen to music
or play it if it were devoid of artistic quality. Music with high artistic quality
induces people to listen to it, play it frequently and accept its profound thought
with a strong impression. Music that lacks artistic quality cannot perform its
noble mission, no matter how high its ideological quality may be. Only when
its high ideological quality is supported by its noble artistic quality can music
have a strong effect on the political and ideological education of the masses and
on rousing them to the revolutionary struggle and the work of construction.
Skilful interpretation is essential for enhancing the artistic quality of music.
Interpretation is the form of art that expresses human thoughts and feelings.
It is a special mode of giving artistic expression to reality, of giving people a
lifelike representation of reality so that people feel as if they are seeing and
hearing it. If a work is to grasp the essence sharply and acquire convincing
truthfulness and emotional attraction with which to arouse people’s interest and
touch their hearts, it needs skilful interpretation.
The words of songs must be written so that they have high ideological
quality and are deeply lyrical. Words should be lifelike and poetic. If they are
full of political parlance, drab and prosaic, they cannot touch people’s hearts.
People will not sing or listen to songs which are full of prosaic words, because
they are not interesting, no matter how high their ideological qualities.
The political and ideological content of the words of songs should be
expressed in everyday language and infused with poetic feelings. Colloquial
words and descriptive expressions should be used for the texts of songs, to give
people familiar feelings. The words of songs should also be rhythmic, so as to
rouse poetic feelings. Of course, the texts of songs cannot dispense totally with
political terms, but, where they are indispensable, they should be put in the
right places. Since the texts are to be sung as songs, their tunefulness should be
30 KIM JONG IL

taken into consideration to make sure that they fit the melodies.
Song must also have accurate musical interpretation.
Musical interpretation should instil emotional vividness into the concrete
feelings of the contents of songs. If the texts of different songs can be fitted to
the same melody, it means that the melody lacks the specific quality of
interpretation. Music should have a specific emotional quality capable of
clearly expressing the poetic image of the text of a song or the artistic intention
of the composer.
Musical images should be created through distinct individuality, so they
should have their own characteristics and a fresh taste. Music that is
stereotyped cannot be called an artistic interpretation. Musical interpretation
that is clearly individualistic and fresh can have an artistic attraction that moves
people.
The artistic quality of music should be combined closely with its ideological
quality; this presupposes popularity, nationality and simplicity.
Artistic quality is not needed for its own sake, nor does it exist in complete
isolation. It is a special quality of art that expresses human thoughts and
feelings about reality; it is a unique mode of art that conveys ideas. Artistic
quality that is separated from ideological quality is valueless, and artistic
quality that does not convey the content of art is useless. Music must not assert
only ideological quality while ignoring or lowering its artistic quality; nor must
it tolerate art for art’s sake, emphasizing artistic quality alone while ignoring its
ideological quality.
The artistic quality of music must be subordinated to the representation of
the masses’ aspirations and demands. It must represent the thoughts and
feelings of one’s own people and be intelligible to them.
Every single piece of music we produce must be a masterpiece of our times
with high ideological and artistic qualities, so that it is liked by the masses and
rouses them to struggle as their inspiring agitator and true educator.
To compose masterpieces needed for the revolution, the composers must
acquire an unshakable Juche outlook on the world.
Revolutionary masterpieces with high ideological and artistic qualities can
only be created on the basis of the Juche world outlook. Without acquiring the
Juche world outlook, it is impossible to grasp the essence of our reality, which
is the embodiment of the Juche idea.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 31

The idea of Juche-oriented art and literature, which has been evolved on the
basis of the great Juche idea, is an original doctrine that shows the absolutely
correct way of developing socialist and communist art and literature.
Only when one is solidly equipped with the idea of Juche-oriented art and
literature can one find successful solutions to problems however difficult
relating to musical creation, on the basis of scientific theory and methodology.
Composers must acquire a deep understanding of the great leader’s Juche
idea, his idea of Juche-oriented art and literature and the Party’s policy of art
and literature, absorb them completely, and thus prepare themselves to be
revolutionary creative workers of the Party.
In order to create many more masterpieces needed for the revolution,
composers must delve deeply into reality and experience it wholeheartedly.
Masterpieces of the times will ring out from reality where the hearts of the
times throb. The reality of our country, where our Party’s lines and policies are
being implemented, the working masses, who are unfailingly loyal to the Party
and the leader, are bubbling over with creative enthusiasm, and miraculous
successes and innovations are taking place one after the other, is an
inexhaustible source of creation as well as an excellent school that helps
composers to develop their creative talents and spirit.
Only when they are immersed in reality can composers warmly feel the
great force and unconquerable vitality of our Party’s policies, and tangibly
experience the fighting spirit and feelings of the working masses who are
working for the Party and the leader and struggling to champion and carry out
the Party’s lines and policies. Composers must plumb the depths of reality and
discover the essence of reality from the point of view of the Party’s lines and
policies and the revolutionary viewpoint of Juche, acquire a deep understanding
of it from the correct aesthetic point of view and also blaze with ardour. In this
way, they will create a fine crop of masterpieces of our times, masterpieces
with high ideological and artistic qualities.
Composers must continue to improve their creative qualifications in order to
produce a batch of masterpieces needed for the revolution.
You cannot create music with political enthusiasm alone. Masterpieces with
high ideological and artistic qualities can only be created when composers’
political and ideological preparedness and their experience of reality are
supported by their creative qualifications. Masterpieces require enhancement
32 KIM JONG IL

from both high ideological and noble artistic qualities. The noble artistic quality
of masterpieces is guaranteed by correct creative methods and high creative
skills.
Composers should make a deep study of our musical masterpieces and the
experience of their creation on the basis of the Party’s evaluation of musical
works, acquire a broad understanding of the famous works of Eastern and
Western music of all ages, in the context of historical progress, and make a
systematic study of the principles and techniques of musical vocabulary, such
as melodies, chord, heterophony, combination of instruments and forms of
music, as well as the history of their development. It is especially important to
acquire an ample knowledge of our folk songs and our people’s music.
Composers also need the skills of playing pianos and other instruments, as well
as a rich and versatile knowledge of vocal music and instrumental music. A
profound knowledge of literature, fine arts, dance and other sister arts should
also be a part of composers’ qualifications. A wide knowledge of nature and
society can also help composers in their thinking and inquiry.
The process of creative work should be the process of transforming
composers on revolutionary and working-class lines. Bearing in mind the
Party’s high trust in them and its expectations as well as the honourable mission
they have assumed before the revolution, composers must continue to train
themselves, prepare themselves politically and professionally to the full and
produce many more masterpieces which will be monuments to our times, and
thus discharge their duty as revolutionary composers.

4) MUSIC MUST BE POPULARIZED

The art of music must be popularized to ensure success in the development

of the art of Juche music. To create a revolutionary and people-oriented art of
music that meets the requirements of our times and the people’s aspirations, and
pleases and serves the people is an important principle of developing the art of
Juche music as well as our Party’s consistent policy.
Popularizing the art of music means that the broad masses are encouraged to
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 33

participate in the activity of musical creation, that the art of music is created
and developed on the strength of their efforts and talents, and that all the
members of society are provided with the opportunity to enjoy music to their
heart’s content. It means, in short, creating and developing the art of music on a
mass foundation and helping the working masses to become genuine masters of
the art of music.
Developing the art of music on a mass foundation and helping the working
masses to create and enjoy music is a principle upon which the art of Juche
music is developed.
In order to develop the genuine musical culture of the working class under a
socialist system, where the working masses are the masters of state power and
the means of production, the working masses, particularly the working class,
must occupy the position of masters in the field of musical art, and play the
leading role in creating and developing the revolutionary and people-oriented
art of music. Only then is it possible to create and develop music that is easy for
the masses to understand and that is enjoyed by them and contributes actively
to their revolutionary struggle and their work of construction, and thus
successfully produce the art of Juche music.
Just as all the material, spiritual and cultural wealth in the world is produced
through the creative efforts of the working masses, so the art of music emerged
and has developed in the course of people’s creative work. Even in the old,
exploitative society, where the ruling class monopolized not only political and
economic fields but also all means of art and literature, and restrained the
working masses’ activities for the creation of art and literature, the masses
created their unique national culture and handed down the heritage of fine
national music that mirrored their aspirations and wishes. A large number of our
folk songs are still liked and widely sung by the people because these songs
were created and polished by the talent of the masses and echo their aspirations
and feelings truthfully and with simplicity. It is true that the heritage of people’s
music in the past had historical and class limitations to some extent because it
was the product of the outmoded class society, in which the working masses
were unable to occupy the position of masters in socio-historical development
and play their role as such. However, the beautiful and rich national sentiments
and feelings which are echoed in the heritage of the people’s music as well as
the truthfulness of musical expression and a high level of artistic interpretation
34 KIM JONG IL

in simple and concise form are an eloquent proof that the working masses are
the true masters and creators of the art of national and people-oriented music.
Only when the broad sections of the working masses participate widely in
musical activities, make collective efforts and display creative talent can the art
of music make progress and our art of Juche music develop faster.
The working masses are the most talented and powerful beings, who realize
the requirements and aspirations of the times by their creative efforts and
stubborn struggle. Only when we encourage the broad masses to participate in
the creation of the art of music and display their creative enthusiasm and artistic
talent can we ensure a truthful and vivid interpretation of today’s vibrant reality
and the feelings of our people who live worthwhile and happy lives under our
socialist system, which is the best in the world, and can we provide the
possibility of creating more and better musical pieces in fresh forms and a
variety of genres.
Popularizing the art of music is also necessary for building up the creative
force that will shoulder the future tasks of the art of Juche music.
There are innumerable people with musical talent and aptitude among our
working people, youth and children. Musical art activities among the broad
masses make it possible to discover new buds of talent, develop them into able
musical creators and artistes with high ideological consciousness and
outstanding artistic skill, and steadily strengthen the Juche-oriented musical
creative force in keeping with the developments of the times.
Popularizing the art of music is an important way to steadily raise the
masses’ ideological and cultural levels, and more actively carry out the work of
developing all the members of society into thoroughgoing communist people.
If musical art activities are conducted vigorously on a broad mass basis, all
the members of society will be able to prepare themselves more effectively to
be communist people equipped solidly with the Juche outlook on the
revolution, rich cultural attainments and noble communist morality in the
process of creating large numbers of works of musical art with high ideological
and artistic qualities.
In order to popularize the art of music, it is necessary to enlist the broad
working masses in musical art activities. This will enable them to create lots of
mass music with a variety of rich content and form and to become true creators
of musical art.
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 35

By thoroughly implementing the Party’s policy of enlisting the broad

masses in musical art activities in the past, we have achieved a great success
and gained valuable experience in this regard.
The working masses, who became the masters of the country, freed from all
sorts of exploitation and social fetters after liberation, sang of the joy and
exultation in their happy lives and worthwhile labour they felt for the first time
in their lives. The resourceful and courageous soldiers of the People’s Army
made musical instruments on the front line even in the trying years of the
Fatherland Liberation War and sang of their thoughts and feelings, of their
unshakable confidence in victory and revolutionary optimism. During postwar
reconstruction and the great upsurge of socialist construction, the working
masses’ activities to create music were further stepped up, and a variety of mass
musical pieces were created in large numbers, musical pieces with
revolutionary and socialist content expressed in simple and yet vivid and
lifelike forms. The masses’ wide participation in musical art activities is a
major factor in the steady development of the art of our Juche music at present.
A major principle that must be firmly adhered to in developing the art of
music on a mass foundation is to let the masses of workers take the lead in
musical art activities, and disseminate the working-class art of music they have
created to both the urban and rural communities. Placing the working class in
the front rank of the activities to create the art of music and developing mass
music following the example of revolutionary music created by them is the way
to guarantee the working-class character of the art of Juche music, and ensure
the healthy development of the art of mass music.
For the development of mass music, not only the working class but also
farmers, soldiers, youth and schoolchildren must participate in the creation of
musical art. This can ensure the production of many more musical pieces of
different forms and genres that echo varied lives, thoughts and feelings as well
as the full flowering of the art of our mass music.
In order to popularize the art of music we must do away with the tendency
towards professionalism that considers musical creation to be something that is
beyond the reach of ordinary people.
This tendency is the expression of the remnants of the anti-popular
bourgeois idea that does not regard the working masses as powerful and
resourceful beings, and looks down upon simple, people-oriented music as
36 KIM JONG IL

something childish and paltry. It is a reactionary ideological tendency to retain

the outmoded, evil practice of the ruling class and small privileged circles in
the exploitative society who monopolized the creation and enjoyment of
musical art.
Our Party aims to make our country a land of art by developing a mass art
in which all the members of society participate and enjoy it. From the point of
view of the development of art, it may be said that communist society is a
society where mass art has reached such a high level that all the members of the
society participate in the creation of art and enjoy it to their heart’s content, a
level at which the whole country has become a land of art. To develop the art of
our Juche music to a higher stage and speed up the building of the art of
communist music, we must eliminate the tendency towards professionalism in
musical art activities, and firmly maintain the principle of developing music on
a mass basis.
Organizing groups of amateur musicians widely and encouraging the
masses to create musical pieces is a practical method of popularizing music.
Music does not become popular automatically simply because social
conditions are provided for the working masses to participate freely in musical
art activities under the socialist system. The working people’s art activities can
only be effective when these activities are organized on a collective basis. In
this sense, it may be said that amateur artist groups are the basic organizational
form and the base for mass musical art activities.
Amateur artist groups should be organized in all sectors, ranging from
factories and other enterprises, cooperative farms and schools to the people’s
neighbourhood units in the residential quarters, mainly on the basis of
production units and residential units, depending on their actual conditions. The
amateur artist groups should be operated in various forms and by various
methods, and on a regular and flexible basis.
The amateur artist groups must deal with a variety of themes and forms,
concentrating on giving publicity to the successes in the labour efforts of the
working people and spreading them, as well as criticizing negative practices.
This will inspire the working people to make greater efforts and help them to
eliminate the remnants of outmoded ideas from their minds.
There should be no practice of specializing in amateur artistic activities.
Specializing in amateur artistic activities would interfere with production
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 37

and obviate the characteristics of the art of the masses.

Amateur artistic activities must be conducted in the same way as the artistic
activities were conducted by the anti-Japanese guerrillas.
The artistic activities of the anti-Japanese guerrillas were characterized by
militant and mobile performances of vivid and lifelike works of art with the use
of handy instruments familiar to the masses without being limited by either
place or time factors. They were also characterized by the way they utilized the
special skills of the masses. We must further develop mass art in our own way
by carrying forward the revolutionary traditions established during the
anti-Japanese armed struggle and following their example.
In order to step up amateur artistic activities and develop the art of music
among the broad masses, professional creative workers and artists must help
amateur artists in their activities. Creative workers and artists must frequently
visit production sites not only to learn from the workers and farmers while
working with them but also to help them and lead them in carrying on amateur
artistic activities in a lively manner.
When helping the working people in their amateur artistic activities and in
their creation of mass music, the professional creative workers and artists must
refrain from inducing them to imitate professionals and writing for amateurs.
What is important in the guidance of amateur artistic activities is to sustain
the simple and truthful nature of mass art, discover new buds appearing in the
course of the masses’ creative work, stimulate the working people’s creative
enthusiasm and help them to complete their works by themselves. We must pay
close attention to ensuring that the creative workers and artists of art troupes
and information squads go out among the masses, enlighten them and give
effective assistance to amateur artistic activities and the creation of mass music.
We must step up the work of art dissemination.
Efficient art dissemination can help the broad working masses to read, hear,
see and enjoy works of art to their heart’s content and educate themselves along
revolutionary lines in the course of this.
Efficient art dissemination is also needed to enlighten the masses
concerning art. Through art dissemination we can give the people a deep
understanding of the value of revolutionary art and literature, widen their
artistic horizons and raise the level of their cultural refinement and artistic
skills, so as to speed up the development of mass art. Effective dissemination of
38 KIM JONG IL

musical art can help the working people to appreciate music in depth and sing
songs more meaningfully with a good knowledge of the ideological and
emotional content of the songs and the characteristics of their artistic
interpretation.
The dissemination of musical art should be conducted in keeping with the
directions and requirements of the Party’s information work.
Music is a powerful instrument for people’s revolutionary education as well
as a major means of the Party’s ideological work. In order to ensure that music
performs its militant function and mission as a means of the Party’s ideological
work, we must plan the dissemination of musical art in keeping with the
directions and requirements of the Party’s ideological work in each period, and
establish a revolutionary attitude in carrying out the plan. Only then can we
disseminate promptly good musical pieces that have been produced to meet the
requirements of each period, stimulate the working people to carry out the
revolutionary struggle and construction work, and encourage them to live and
work with revolutionary optimism.
The work of art dissemination must be conducted on the basis of the
Juche-oriented art dissemination system established by our Party in an original
way. If we permit the dissemination of poor works at random on the grounds of
sustaining the characteristics of one’s own district, these works may have an
undesirable influence on the people. We must see to it that all the people sing
songs with high ideological and artistic qualities, songs that have been created
by the central authorities, approved by the Party and issued through the unified
music dissemination system.
To develop art on a mass basis, we must intensify art education among the
younger generation.
The general cultural level of our working people is now quite high, and the
younger people, who have received 11-year compulsory education and higher
education, are working in large numbers in factories and other enterprises and
in rural communities, creating the conditions for the further development of art
and literature among the masses. If we improve art education for younger
people in these circumstances, we shall be able to accelerate the popularization
of art successfully. If we produce as many able art teachers as we need by
improving the quality of art teacher training and pay close attention to
improving art education in the sphere of general education, all pupils will
 1. JUCHE MUSIC 39

acquire a basic knowledge of music, while the level of their general cultural
attainments will be raised during the 11-year compulsory education. As a result,
they will be able to dance and sing songs and play at least one kind of musical
instrument skilfully. When the younger people, who have received sufficient art
education, engage in productive work, the cultural level of all the members of
society will rise much higher, mass musical art activities will be invigorated,
the Party’s policy of popularizing the art of music will be implemented with
success and the work of imbuing the whole of society with art will be hastened.
40

2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION

1) MUSIC IS AN ART OF MELODIES

(1) Melodies Are Basic to Music

Music sounds familiar to people because it has melodies which people can
hear and sing with relish. Melodies are indispensable to music.
Melodies are the expression of emotions that emanate naturally from the
stirring of human thoughts and feelings.
In the past, different people understood the essence of melodies in different
ways according to their views of the nature of music. One theory is that music
originated in the cries of animals. According to this view, melodies may be
nothing but the imitation of animals’ instinctive cries. This amounts to
justifying reactionary bourgeois music, a decadent musical school that now
asserts that vulgar and licentious melodies, which stimulate man’s animal
instincts, are real melodies. Another theory is that music originated in rhythms
used to coordinate work activities. From this is inferred the view that melodies
are a mere byproduct of rhythms. This view appears to have a positive element
in that it traces the origin of music to labour, but it fails to clarify the basic
factor in the emergence of music from labour, and in consequence it will lead to
denying the independent and leading expressiveness of melodies, and further
negate melodies themselves. Still another theory is that music originated in the
inflections of speech. But this theory does not distinguish the essential
difference between inflections and melodies.
Melodies are neither imitations of animals’ cries nor copies of work
movements or the inflections of speech. Natural phenomena like animals’ cries
might, of course, have provided emotional stirring and stimulus to the process
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 41

of creating melodies, and social phenomena like work rhythms and speech
inflections might have some influence on man’s musical thinking. Since they
came into being in close alliance with speech, melodies have, in fact, been
influenced by the inflections of speech. However, melodies are not simple
imitations or copies of natural or social phenomena. Melodies are an
independent product of human consciousness as a means of musical art that has
been created in the course of attempts to reflect man’s desire for independence
and his creative activities.
In everyday life, people often express their feelings through melodies. This
is illustrated by their humming when they are happy or experience some
pleasant feeling. Work songs are not aimed merely at coordinating people’s
movements while they work together. Work songs in an exploitative society
echo the stirring of thoughts and emotions of the exploited people who,
lamenting over their lot of having to endure backbreaking labour, try to forget
the pain of toil with a sort of vague hope and expectation. The melodies of
work songs in our society, where the people are free from exploitation and
oppression, overflow with the feeling of pride and joy of life emanating from
the worthwhile work of creating a new life.
Melodies reflect human thoughts and feelings. This does not mean, however,
that melodies are the same as speech, which is the basic form of expressing human
thoughts and feelings as well as the basic means of communication. Speech is the
direct expression of thoughts and feelings, whereas melodies are the emotional
expression of the stirring of thoughts and feelings. It is true that speech also
expresses a certain degree of emotions through its inflections. In speech, however,
inflections are secondary and auxiliary, whereas in music melodies are a leading
and independent means. This is the essential difference between the inflections of
speech and melodies as the language of music.
Melodies are the basic means of expressing the ideological and emotional
content of music.
There are many musical means of expression, but none of them has as
independent and expressive a force as melodies have. Chords, beat and
instrumentation all have expressive force peculiar to them, but these cannot
lead to independent musical interpretation. By contrast, melodies can clearly
express the ideological and emotional content of music and the interpretative
ideas of music in a complete form.
42 KIM JONG IL

Melodies are the basic factor in defining the quality of musical composition.
People who only listen to melodies without accompaniment feel the depth
of musical interpretation and are deeply moved, but they do not feel much
interest or musical excitement from chords or beats of the accompaniment
without melody. Change in the chords, beats or timbre of a work of music does
not basically alter the quality of its composition, but change in melodies results
in a completely different work of music.
Of all the means of musical expression, melodies are the easiest for people
to grasp, and the most intelligible and most familiar to them.
The masses of the people have enriched musical vocabulary by evolving
beats, chords and the like, and adopting various forms of ensemble while
creating music down the ages, but they have always given precedence to
melodies.
Folk songs, which have been created and developed by the people
throughout history, have all been handed down through their melodies.
World-famous masterpieces of music are remembered as melodies, not as
chords or beats.
Melodies are the first and foremost means of musical composition. In this
sense, music may be called the art of melodies.
The attitude towards the position and role of melodies in musical works and
the method of using them comprise a major criterion for distinguishing between
genuine music and modern anti-realist music.
The music of modernism or vanguardism that began to emerge in the early
years of this century obliterates the expressive significance of musical
vocabulary by denying the ideological content of music and destroying its form
as the mode of the existence of its content. This kind of music, without
exception, slights or negates melodies. Nowadays, in the field of mass music
worldwide anti-popular, decadent music that echoes the deformed life and
degenerate and ailing mental state of imperialism is widespread. They make a
mockery of melodies by deforming them in a grotesque manner or making
them insipid adjuncts to monotonous rhythms.
We must combat the anti-popular, anti-realist elements of this music, a
product of imperialist society, in the 20th century, and stop them infiltrating
into our music or germinating in it. We cannot, of course, ignore the trend of
modern music in developing our own music. Even in adopting the world trend
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 43

of music, however, we must not permit the infiltration of the slightest elements
of the anti-realist method of creation that ignores, deforms, or obliterates
melodies, but digest and introduce wholesome, melodious music to cater to our
tastes. No matter what objections are raised, we must advance in the direction
of subordinating all means of musical expression to melodies, not in the
direction of weakening melodies while emphasizing secondary elements like
rhythms. Our Party’s unshakable principle is to put the main emphasis on
melodies, making melodies the basis of musical creation.
We must subordinate chords, the mode of combination of expressive means,
rhythms and all the other means to the sustaining of melodies.
The rich expressive force of chords, beats, instrumentation and the mode of
combination of expressive means, can only prove effective when these are
subordinated to melodies and fused with them. If chords, rhythms and other
means actively support and enrich the interpretation and character of melodies,
they will better sustain melodies, and ensure the basic and leading position and
role of melodies.
Chords must always be subordinated to the sustaining of melodies.
Chords are indispensable to polyphonic music. They are a powerful means
of expression that stresses the emotional timbre of melodies and enriches
musical interpretation by consonance. If you fail to give full play to the rich
expressive force of chords, you will be unable to sustain the emotional tone of
melodies in a greater variety and fail to brighten even excellent melodies.
The mode of combining means of expressing music also plays an important
role in sustaining melodies.
The mode of combining expressive means is the style of allotting voice
parts to melodies, using chords and beats in accompaniment, and employing
counterpoints and heterophony. It must not be used for the purpose of merely
sustaining itself, but should be thoroughly subordinated to sustaining melodies.
To sustain melodies and flavour them with national tastes, we must make
skilful use of the beat patterns of Korean folk music.
The beats are the groupings of successive rhythmic styles accompanying the
melodies. These are a mass means of expression that adds rhythmic gusto to
melodies. These may be carried through by means of percussion instruments
only or may be achieved in the musical sequence of various accompanying
instruments. In any case, however, beats must be used in harmony with
44 KIM JONG IL

melodies, not overwhelming or weakening them. If they conflict with the

rhythmic gusto that is inherent in the melodies or if the style of the
accompaniment that expresses rhythmic patterns is too crude, it may distort the
character and artistic quality of the melodies.
Heterophony must also be used skilfully to sustain melodies.
Heterophony is a rather complex polyphonic means that adds different
melodies as accompaniment to a primary melody and enriches the resonance
and artistic qualities of music. Heterophony that is used effectively and in the
right sequence can make melodies attractive and improve the artistic qualities
of the melodies in an original way. However, the misuse of counterpoints and
other means of heterophony may not only end up failing to sustain the primary
melody, but also make it difficult to distinguish between the primary and
secondary melodies. Heterophony must always be easy to understand, and
serve as a means of producing national flavour, sustaining the primary melody
and raising the artistic quality of music.
Instrumentation plays a great role in sustaining melodies. It is a means of
harmonizing melodies and accompaniment with a variety of tone colours by
allotting instruments to each voice part in polyphonic music and combining
them. It is important in instrumentation to choose tone colours capable of
emphasizing the character and artistic qualities of melodies, and allot
instruments appropriately to the melodies, accompaniment and voice parts, so
as to sustain the timbre of melodies and harmonize their tone colours with those
of the accompaniment.
Composers must sustain the characteristics of all means of expression and
yet subordinate them thoroughly to sustaining the melodies, and thus give
prominence to the characteristics of our melody-oriented music.

(2) Melodies Must Be Beautiful and Restrained

For music to inspire people with noble emotions and stimulate them to take
a great interest in it, its melodies must be beautiful and restrained. The Song of
Loyalty purifies people’s minds and arouses very august and pious feelings in
them because its melodies are beautiful and restrained. The folk song Arirang
skilfully embodies the sentiment and soul of the Korean nation by means of its
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 45

beautiful and restrained melody, so that its melody alone reminds us of the
history of national sufferings and arouses in us strong feelings of love for our
native places.
Melodies must be beautiful.
The beauty of melodies is an emotional reflection of man’s beautiful
feelings. A true man’s feelings and aspirations are beautiful. Since
independence and creativity are part of man’s intrinsic nature, no feelings are
more beautiful than the feelings of true people who struggle to lead
independent and creative lives.
Man’s heroic struggle for freedom from the fetters of nature and society,
devotion to the masses, the independent makers of history, self-sacrificing spirit
for the social collective and comrades in the revolution, unfailing loyalty to the
Party and the leader, loyalty that is the core of all the spiritual world, are the
beautiful features of true people. Melodies must be beautiful, and sustain
nothing mean and corrupt, because they must reflect the noble feelings of true
people. “Beauty” enjoyed by those who are steeped in selfishness, misanthropy,
material greed and hedonism, which conflict with man’s desire for an
independent and creative life, can in no way be beautiful. That is the reflection
of corrupt ideas and feelings that degrade people and corrode their minds. The
melodies of our music must thoroughly reject any vulgar feelings and reflect
only the healthy and ennobling beauty of independent people.
Melodies must be restrained.
Restrained melodies are the national characteristics of our music. Koreans
like restrained melodies. They like quiet colours better than glaring colours, and
gentle melodies better than noisy or boisterous melodies. This is a reflection of
the feelings and sentiments of our nation.
From ancient times, our people have been mild and decorous, and fond of
clear, clean and bright things. This is a characteristic of our nation that has been
shaped in the course of their long history. The Korean language is also gentle,
clear and elegant as a reflection of the national nature.
Our national melodies, which have developed along with the Korean
language, are clear, sonorous, elegant and gentle. Our music is characterized by
its restrained melodies.
By restrained melodies which are liked by our people, I do not mean feeble
and placid melodies by any means.
46 KIM JONG IL

From ancient times, the Korean people have been diligent in their work and
always courageous in fighting aggressors. This has nothing in common with the
leisurely, lazy, cowardly and servile nature of the exploiting class. The
diligence and courage of the Korean people find expression in their
enterprising, optimistic and romantic character. The excellence of our national
character has acquired a new meaning and is being displayed on a higher plane
in the socialist system of our country, where the Juche idea is brilliantly
translated into reality. The melodies of our music must be restrained and yet
fresh, with overflowing vigour and stamina in tune with the emotions of the
people of our times.
Melodies, to be beautiful and restrained, must be composed in a stanzaic,
not recitative, style.
A recitative style is a narrative style tuned to melodies, which plays no more
than an auxiliary role, like the inflections of speech. It is a form of vocal music
that is not melodious. It is a mere tuning of the inflections of speech and lacks
metre, the essential element of musical language. Therefore, it is not melodious
in the true sense of the word.
The tones of melodies are an important factor in conditioning the
ideological and emotional expression of melodies. But the tones of melodies on
their own cannot fulfil the expressive function unique to musical language. The
expressive function of melodies as an element of musical language can only be
performed by means of metre, in addition to tones. The recitative style is an
incomplete and unnatural form of vocal music in that it lacks metre, although it
has tones.
Metre is indispensable to melodies. The term denotes the law that governs
the sounds. It is used to mean the rules that define the pitches of sounds and
also to signify a regular arrangement of sounds. By the term metre in this essay
I mean the defining character of melodies that enables the expression of a
complete musical idea through the arrangement of tones.
The inflections of speech have no rules of their own, and obey the rules of
words and sentences because they are auxiliary elements which are
subordinated to the meaning of words and sentences. By contrast, melodies are
an independent means and need their own grammar to enable them to express a
complete ideological and emotional content, as a sentence does, through the
regular arrangement of tones.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 47

Stanzaic songs are an excellent musical form that can meet the essential
requirement of melodies and accords with the traditions and customs of the
musical language. The melodies of stanzaic songs are arranged with regular and
natural metre that is convenient to listen to, and easy to sing. So, if they are
well adapted to the gentle Korean texts of songs, they can enhance their
subtleness.
To compose beautiful and subtle melodies, it is necessary to eliminate too
steep and tortuous rises and falls and make them smoother.
Smooth melodies are ones that flow naturally from the emotional impact of
the text of a song.
Songs which have both words and tunes, are basic to music. Originally,
music came into being as a combination of words and tunes, and songs are the
musical genre that is the most widespread and loved by the people. The music
of songs which emerged from among the masses and is liked by them is the
basis of all musical genres as well as the basic motive force of the development
of musical history. Songs and their texts not only play an important role in
music but also serve as the basis of defining the essential qualities of music.
Singability is a natural requirement of melodies. The melodies of popular
music, even in the case of instrumental music, are singable. Melodies which are
not singable are devoid of popular character; they have lost their humanity. In
order to ensure the singability of music, the melodies should be restrained and
easy to sing, and flow smoothly.
Melodies can be easy to sing and smooth only when they convert the words
of songs naturally into melodic vocabulary, and also flow naturally by
sustaining the characteristics of their language.
If melodies are to be restrained, there should be neither sharp rises and falls
nor extremely tortuous flows in them.
Sharp melodic rises and falls and tortuous turns arise from discord between
melodies and words, discord caused by subordinating melodies mechanically to
words and exaggerating the meanings and inflections of parts of words or
conversely combining melodies incongruously with the inflections of words.
Melodies must not be subordinated too strictly to words, in order to maintain
their natural flow, nor should they ignore their relationship with the words to
such an extent as to break their harmonious alliance with the words. Excessive
rises and falls and tortuous turns of melodies are an expression of dogmatism
48 KIM JONG IL

that copies the Western style of recitatives or the form of technique-oriented,

professional vocal music.
In order to avoid excessive rises and falls and tortuous turns in melodies, and
make them restrained, it is necessary to ensure close alliance between the words and
the notes, and sustain the characteristics of the melodies that accord with them.
The stanzaic form is the best form of creating songs in that it can ensure a
close alliance between the words and the notes.
Achieving a close alliance between the words and the notes is a principle
for creating stanzaic songs. Only when the words and the notes are closely
allied is it possible to communicate the meanings of the words clearly and
ensure the natural flow of melodies in keeping with the demands of singing.
Allying the words closely with the notes means combining the poetic words
of the texts with musical melodies in natural harmony.
In order to ensure a close alliance between them, it is necessary to avoid
assigning two characters or two syllables to a single melodic note. Assigning
one syllable to one note is the general principle for creating songs. In our
language, one syllable is represented by one character. If one melodic note is
combined with two or three characters, the singer may stammer, and the
melodic flow may be choked and sound awkward.
Agreement between the phrases of texts and those of melodies is important
in ensuring a close alliance between the words and the notes. Disagreement
between them may result in distorting the meanings of the phrases of the texts
and in an unnatural flow, because of discordant metre and breathing. Even in a
piece of wordless music, the metre should be harmonious, so that the melodic
flow and breathing may be natural.
Words and notes should be allied to produce a good harmony of inflections,
tone pitches, and tempo.
The pitch and tempo of the inflections of the Korean language are gentle
and beautiful, so they enhance the poetic rhythm.
Melodies must sustain the characteristics of inflections. The text of a song
has tempo and stresses produced by its poetic inflections and rhythms, so these
stresses should agree with the stressed beats of the melodies.
To compose beautiful and restrained melodies, we must creatively sustain
and develop the excellent characteristics of folk music.
Folk music is the main current and motive force in the development of
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 49

national music. The masses are the driving force not only of history but also in
the creation of spiritual and cultural wealth. They created and enjoyed their
music at the dawn of history, have polished it over thousands of years and have
handed it down to date. Folk music has served as a major creative source for
progressive musicians who loved the people and valued the people’s musical
wealth. It has made a great contribution to the development of progressive
professional music.
The melodies of folk music, which have been produced in the course of the
creative labour and lives of the masses, represent the national melodies of a
country and epitomize them. Folk music is the concentration of the beautiful
and excellent characteristics of the national melodies, and is permeated with the
national characteristics that serve as the basis of our music today. Needless to
say, the folk music of the past has certain limitations due to the historical
periods in which it was created and to the level of social progress at those
times. In inheriting it, therefore, we must make necessary amendments and
necessary alterations to suit our times.
We must explore the characteristics of our folk music, make use of them in
a creative way to suit our contemporary aesthetic tastes, and develop them to
the higher plane of our times.
Our folk music, which our people have created over the ages, is elegant and
beautiful, and has artistic qualities we can be proud of before the whole world.
Arirang, A Broad Bellflower, Yangsando and many other folk songs have
elegant and beautiful melodies that purify people’s minds and also produce
plaintive feelings that move people. Many of our folk songs make people merry
and cheerful, and inspire them with strength and courage by their melodies that
overflow with the exultation of labour and ardent desire for life.
The melodies of Korean folk songs are permeated with the high musical
talent of our people and are alive with national characteristics in their musical
language.
The melody of each Korean folk song has a characteristic tone and well-knit
metre, and the melodic flow is skilfully arranged in agreement with the
development of emotions. Trilling, one of the peculiar features of Korean folk
melodies, has been widely applied to our music to sustain the national style by
means of a variety of skills. In Korean folk songs, tonality also has a great
effect on enriching the national timbre of melodies with its peculiar
50 KIM JONG IL

characteristics. Rhythms wonderfully enhance the gaiety of varied and rich

tunes of Korean folk songs, and thus sustain the Korean tastes. The
characteristics of the melodies of our folk music are invaluable wealth of our
people that must be preserved and developed by our music today.
Our folk music fully fosters the national and simple singability of the
melodies, in keeping with the characteristics of the Korean language.
The melodies of our folk songs seldom begin with upbeats. This is related to
the rhythmic characteristics of Korean songs and poetry, which not only
produce pleasant and gentle poetic emotions, but also always have temperate
stresses at the beginning of poetic phrases. The Korean language itself is
characterized by temperate stresses on the first syllables of words. From ancient
times, our people, who of course have always spoken the Korean language,
have used measures that start with downbeats rather than upbeats. For this
reason, ordinary people who have not received specialized musical training find
it difficult to sing a song with measure that begins with upbeats. Once I'll Be
the Flower to Herald the Spring, the theme song of the film, The Fourteenth
Winter, was composed in four-four time, starting with upbeats, with the result
that it was difficult for the song to be popularized among the masses. So it was
changed into six-eight time, starting with downbeats. Then, the song became
easier for the masses to sing and became widely popular.
Of course, there is no rule that the melodies of our songs must never use a
measure that starts with upbeats. When it is necessary to sustain the
characteristics of a particular melody and ensure variety of rendition, upbeats
may be used at the beginning of a melodic measure. But it is important to
sustain the good features of the form of folk music and the established customs
of the national language in order to preserve the national elements of melodies
and render them more agreeable to listen to and easier to sing.
The words and melodies of folk songs are closely allied. So when changing
words of folk songs to meet contemporary needs, the alliance between words
and melodies must be carefully considered. If the words of a folk song are
changed at random, the song will sound flat.
Composers must create restrained and beautiful national melodies of our own
style that accord with our people’s emotions and tastes, and develop our music
into people’s music enjoyed by the Koreans, into revolutionary music capable of
serving the Korean people and contributing to the Korean revolution.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 51

(3) Characteristic Melodies Sustain Musical Composition

Melodies are rich and varied in expressive force. Music inspires people with
strength and courage in their work and struggle, and purifies and ennobles their
minds because the rich and varied expressive force of melodies produces works
of impressive musical composition.
Melodies have an unlimitedly rich and varied power to express all the
pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy of human life, ranging from an episodic simple
feeling in everyday life to a serious spiritual experience, including lofty and
profound thoughts, ranging from a small personal feeling based on individual
life to an extensive collective sentiment that represents the unanimous
aspiration and will of a nation. Composers must create idiomatic melodies by
making use of the rich and varied expressive force of melodies.
Artistic representation is, in essence, the creation of artistic individuality.
Artistic representation that is devoid of individuality is not worthy of the
name. It should be lifelike. People’s thoughts and feelings expressed in life are
concrete and individualistic. In order to represent reality vividly, people and
their lives should be expressed individualistically and concretely.
Composing an individualistic melody means sustaining its characteristics so
that it can be distinguished from other melodies. Only when they are
characteristic can melodies contribute to the creation of musical composition
that can truthfully express the thoughts, feelings and emotions of people as
individuals.
Melodies should also be characteristic in order to clarify their motifs.
Motif is the musical expression of concrete thoughts and feelings; it infuses
distinct artistic individuality into melodies. The motif of a musical work
represents a single composition, on which a single idea is musically
concentrated and completed. The melody of a stanzaic song is itself a complete
motif, but a major work of instrumental music has a separate motif that runs
through it and unifies it. The characteristic melody of the motif sustains the
idiomatic composition of the musical work.
In order to compose characteristic melodies, the composer must discover
the germs of melodies in real life.
52 KIM JONG IL

Selecting the germ of a melody is a basic factor that affects the ideological
and artistic quality of a musical work, just as the selection of the right seed in
literature does the same thing.
A composer can create an excellent musical composition only when he has
selected a good melodic germ.
By the germ of a melody I mean the individualistic factor in melodic
composition emanating from the ideological and emotional impact the
composer has received in his approach to reality, as well as the idiomatic
element that defines the characteristics of the melody.
The germ of a melody becomes a complete organic musical composition by
absorbing rich nutrition through various musical means and techniques in the
course of the composer’s ceaseless pondering and exploration.
Of course, in music, too, the question of selecting the seed of a work arises
before selecting the germ of the melody. A musical work without its seed is
inconceivable, just as a plant without its seed cannot germinate, develop its
stem and branches, blossom and bear fruit.
A musical work expresses a thought and has the ideological kernel of life,
just as a literary work does. However, musical vocabulary, which is not a means
of communication in everyday life, cannot express a person’s idea in a tangible
manner. So it is difficult to define clearly the seed from which the idea of the
wordless melody of a musical work emanates.
In case of a piece of vocal music, the idea and the seed, which is the basis of
the idea, can be easily understood, because the piece of vocal music carries
with it both melody and words. In a work of vocal music, the text is the basic
factor that defines melodic composition, so that the seed of the text coincides
with the seed of the music. However, when melodies are considered separately
from their texts or in the case of instrumental music which expresses thoughts
and feelings purely with musical vocabulary alone, it is difficult to define their
thoughts and seeds as clearly as in the case of literary works.
The seed of a musical work reveals its essential characteristics clearly
through the melodic germ which emanates from the seed. The germ of a
melody is the melodic element that has emanated from the seed discovered in
life and is in the throes of musical composition. As such, the germ embodies the
concrete thought and feelings the composer wishes to express through his
musical work. In music, the selection of the germ of the melody and the choice
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 53

of the seed of the musical work are closely interrelated, and the ideological and
artistic qualities of a musical piece are affected largely by the melodic germ that
has been selected.
The germ of a melody does not mean the starting section of melodic
progress, nor any other part of the melody. The process of the germ’s
growth into a complete musical work is the process of the composer’s
ceaseless creative thinking and exploration. The mere playing and unfolding
of a melody do not lead the germ to a complete composition. The melodic
germ contains the embryo of the idiomatic expression of a complete
melodic composition. It contains an original and individualistic element of
the melody that can ripen into a motif in the course of repeated study and
exploration. The germ of a melody does not necessarily remain intact in any
part of the melody. The originally selected germ may be preserved in a
melodic form in a part of the melodic motif which has a complete shape, but
it may also exist as a latent idiomatic expressive element that defines its
characteristics.
The melodic germ is a completely new concept that fundamentally differs
from the theory of motivistic development of melodies. True, the motivistic
theory defines the law of the logic of melodic development, and as such it has
some significance as a theory of melodic creation. In the conventional theory,
the motive is the structural unit of a melody and serves as the basis of the
logical process of musical development in time. The melodic germ, unlike the
motive, is the concentration of the feelings and emotions the composer has
acquired from reality for the artistic expression of his thoughts and feelings. It
is the individualistic factor that defines the quality of his melodic composition.
The process of the melodic germ’s development into a complete musical
composition is not a structural process of building it up in the passage of time,
but a creative process in which the germ ripens, matures and flowers.
A formulated logic of melodic progress or a purely technical method of
development in the creation of melodies is not enough to interpret the
profound world of delicate and rich human ideas and feelings satisfactorily.
Although the logic or the technique of melodic development is necessary for
the art of music, more important are enthusiastic study and inquiry, and
unremitting creative efforts that can express through musical composition the
important ideas that are based on real life. The factor for melodic composition
54 KIM JONG IL

that must be grasped, fostered and made to flower in the process of such
study, inquiring and creation, that is, the characteristic melodic element with
rich imagination and emotion is none other than the melodic germ.
Only when the composer has discovered the germ of a melody in real life
can he weave characteristic melodies and create an excellent idiomatic melodic
composition.
Discovering new means and techniques of melodic expression and their
application are another method of composing characteristic melodies.
In order to bring the selected melodic germ to maturity and flowering, it is
necessary to foster and develop it by a skilful application of various means and
technique.
If the composer clings to existing patterns in the use of means and
techniques, and copies others’ doings, he will be unable to create a new and
idiomatic melodic composition.
The originality and individuality of the composer’s melodic composition
depend largely on how he selects his melodic vocabulary and how he uses it.
Melodic lines, the direction of melodic progress, tonality, rhythm and various
other means and techniques are rich in expressive force. However, if the
composer fails to use these means and techniques in an idiomatic manner, he
will be unable to display their expressive force to the full.
The direction of melodic progress is the peculiar element that defines the
melodic line. It plays the major role in effecting emotional turns of melodies
and in harmonizing emotional tensions and releases. The same direction of
melodic progress results in the same melodic line, and in basically the same
emotional turns and lines, so that it is impossible to sustain the characteristics
of melodies. Melodic lines in music should be different from one another, to
meet the requirements of specific compositions and in accordance with the
composer’s individualistic ideas.
Composing restrained melodies does not always presuppose sequential
arrangement. Sequential arrangement is a method of producing restrained
melodies, but gentle melodic rise and fall only in sequence not only fails to
render emotional turns and changes in feelings, but also results in the
production of unidiomatic melodies as motifs, which sound monotonous and
flat. Too frequent use of leaps that cause excessive rises and falls of melodies
by over-emphasizing feelings damages the emotional smoothness of melodies
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 55

and makes it difficult to sing and hear the melodies.

Melodic lines should combine sequential arrangement properly with
moderate leaps, so that emotions and feelings flow smoothly. Melodic lines
should clearly express the composer’s artistic intention, so as to sustain the
characteristics of the melodies and the idiomatic quality of his composition. If
the composer simply imitates others and does not push forward his own view or
deals too cautiously with his melodic lines, he will not succeed in musical
creation. He must have an unshakable view of his composition that has been
derived from the melodic germ, ponder from various angles how to set the
melodic lines, where to put the climax, and how to sustain the characteristics of
his melodies, and employ a variety of techniques for developing the melodies
accordingly.
Rhythm also plays a very important role in melodies.
Rhythm is a means of defining melodic progression in time, and as such it
plays an important role in adding pulsation and liveliness to melodic flow. The
idiomatic quality of melodies as motif in large measure finds expression in
rhythm, and the types and moods of melodies are distinguished by rhythm in
many cases.
Melodic rhythm must be characteristic, sustaining the characteristics of
melodic types and modality. The effort to sustain these characteristics should
not, of course, result in a complex rhythm that is out of tune with the flow of
human feelings. Sustaining the national tone in rhythmic composition is
effective for enhancing the national tastes and preserving national features. The
composer must skilfully sustain and use rhythmic effects to make melodies
idiomatic.
Tonality also holds an important place in melodic vocabulary. Melodies
cannot express the ideological and emotional content only by means of their
lines and rhythms. Only when they have tonality can melodies perform the
function of ideological and emotional expression. Tonality is the basis of
chords, and its characteristic use can produce colourful and varied chords.
Tonality is a means of organizing melodic progression in the relationship of
tonal pitch. It furnishes melodies with the timbre of musical resonance, so that
they acquire organic life for the creation of musical composition.
A melody without tonality is not a melody, and it cannot be called music.
The people do not know how to render music without tonality; they are fond of
56 KIM JONG IL

singing songs with tonality that is familiar to them. Historically there has been
no popular music which has no tonality. We do not recognize music that rejects
tonality, or music without tonality.
In melodic composition, tonality must be used in a flexible manner.
Otherwise, the musical timbres of songs, no matter how many, will be
monotonous.
If you use only a heptatonic scale allegedly for the sake of modernity, or a
pentatonic scale in an attempt to preserve national character, such a creative
attitude will not help towards composing a variety of characteristic melodies.
You should not recklessly use foreign national tonality which is not familiar to
our people, either, in an attempt to compose melodies with a fresh taste.
The composer must apply tonality to melodies in a novel way to sustain the
timbre of his composition by examining a variety of given tonal possibilities. If
he follows only conventional methods, shackled to the general rules of major
and minor scales, he will be unable to furnish his melodies with novel tastes.
In order to use characteristic melodic tonality, the composer must make a
close study of folk music, the treasure house of popular music, and extract the
rich and varied talents of the people from it. Needless to say, we should not use
the tonality of the folk songs of the past just as they are. Those from the large
reservoir of folk tonality which cater to contemporary aesthetic tastes can be
used without modification. But others will have to be used in proper
combination with the generalized tonalities familiar to our contemporaries, so
as to sustain modernity. This will make it fully possible to compose
characteristic melodies that combine nationality and modernity skilfully.
Composers must strictly guard against the bad habit of copying others’
practices in the use of melodic means and techniques, and make unremitting
efforts to sustain originality and individuality in the creation of melodies.
Choosing proper emotional timbres is essential for the composition of
characteristic melodies.
Melodic emotions are perceived through the ears, and the delicate and
varied differences of emotions emanating from a variety of melodies are
distinguished by the impression of their timbres. People say that the melody
they hear is bright, dark, thick, thin, clear or cloudy. This shows that they
feel the difference in melodic emotions through the impression of the
melody’s timbre. The various emotions, like joy, pleasure, sorrow and
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 57

wrath, they feel from melodies are perceived through the impression of their
timbres. This peculiar emotional effect of melodies is precisely their
emotional timbres.
The emotional timbres of melodies play an important role in making
melodies characteristic and musical composition idiomatic. This is a facet that
expresses the ideological and emotional content of melodies and then artistic
qualities. When I say that a proper emotional timbre has been selected to meet
the requirements of a specific composition, I mean that the melody is clearly
characteristic and the musical composition is idiomatic.
The selection of the right emotional timbre is important in ensuring
unfettered understanding of musical compositions. When hearing melodies,
people feel their emotional timbres sooner than the shapes of the melodic lines,
the features of means of expression, the structure and other elements. The
emotional timbre of a melody produces the total impression of a musical
composition.
Musical types and modality are also distinguished by the emotional timbres
of melodies. Lyrical melodies and march-type melodies differ in their
emotional timbres, and folk songs and modern songs are distinguished by their
emotional timbres. Even the emotional timbres of melodies of the same type or
the same modality vary with the range of their ideological motifs and with the
specific compositions within them. Even within the same genre of lyrical songs,
the lyrical timbres of songs about the motherland and those of songs about
socialist construction cannot be the same. Even in the case of songs about the
motherland, the emotional timbres of songs about the happy present and
hopeful future of the motherland and those of songs about the fate of the
motherland in the grim days of war differ from each other. That is why
composers must select the right emotional timbres for melodies in order to meet
the specific requirements of the ideological and emotional content and
compositions.
The emotional timbres of melodies must be subtle, in order to reflect the
contents of life they represent.
Psychological feelings and emotions experienced in specific situations of
life are varied and delicate. People feel differently even in the same situation of
life, depending on their ideological point of view, their past records and
backgrounds, their character and habits. Composers must select the emotional
58 KIM JONG IL

timbres of melodies to sustain the subtle difference in thoughts and feelings of

concrete life. Only then can they create clearly characteristic melodies and
vivid compositions.
The emotional timbres of the melodies in our contemporary music must be
permeated with a bright mood, in addition to being varied and subtle.
The timbres of melodies, which express the thoughts and feelings of our
contemporaries who live and work with hope, ardour and optimism, helping
and guiding each other, under the wise leadership of the Party and the leader,
must not be gloomy. If you compose gloomy melodies or create a sorrowful
composition allegedly to express a serious content or intense feelings, these
will be unable to reflect the spirit of our times correctly. Since brightness and
darkness are relative concepts, there may be differences in the degree of
brightness of melodies depending on the character of the composition, but it is
advisable that the melodies that reflect today’s reality should be as bright as
possible.
Too light melodies that are composed for the sake of brightness do not suit
the atmosphere of our society either; they distort reality. Buoyant melodies may
result in flippant and shallow pieces of music.
The emotional timbres of melodies may vary depending on how the
composer understands and grasps reality. He must delve into the reality of our
times, correctly grasp the essence of the period and acquire the essence of life
in depth. Only then can he warmly feel the contemporary emotions that
overflow from real life, and discover from it the appropriate emotional colour
for his melodies with which to create authentic, concrete interpretation, and
truthful and impressive musical compositions.
Clearly sustaining musical composition by means of characteristic melodies
is not merely a technical matter. A musical composition is not a technical
product; it is the vivid representation of human individuality. Therefore, the
process of completing a musical composition should be made a process of
ceaseless exploration and creation, a process of experiencing living people’s
thoughts and feelings in depth and representing them in an idiomatic manner.
Composers must delve into reality, warmly experience life, discover melodic
means and techniques in an original manner, acquire characteristic melodies,
and express the noble thoughts and feelings of our contemporaries impressively
through rich musical compositions.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 59

2) STANZAIC SONGS ARE THE BASIC

FORM OF POPULAR MUSIC

Music expresses thoughts and feelings through its peculiar forms.

Music is often referred to as an art of feelings and emotions. It expresses
human feelings and emotions even down to their basic subtleties.
Musical emotions and feelings and their subtleties find expression in the
flow of definite time. So music is called the art of time.
Music requires a definite form as a process of time for a delicate expression
of human emotions and feelings, and their subtle motions. It is important to
choose the right musical form for expressing emotions and feelings, and
enhancing their effect.
Vocal music, for instance, has a number of forms such as recitative, aria,
and so on. In the form of recitative, music follows the text, imitating the
inflections of the words, so that it has no musical structure of its own, and the
expression of emotions and feelings is not natural. Arias take a complex and
long form that is difficult to remember and sing. That is why people do not like
them.
Stanzaic songs are the basic form of popular music.
From the musical point of view, stanzaic songs are a musical form in which
artistically complete melodies are repeated and developed in step with the
change and development of the texts. The form of stanzaic songs has a concise
structure and a variety of descriptive functions, so it can reflect all kinds of
thoughts and feelings in breadth and depth.
Stanzaic songs are a popular musical form created and developed by the
people. The stanzaic form is not only closely related in its emergence to the
people’s working life, but is also based on the form of collective singing. It has
been handed down through folk songs, which have been created by the masses
of the people. In the course of this, it has been developed and perfected,
preserved and enriched by progressive musicians among the people until it has
acquired a complete structure.
60 KIM JONG IL

Most of the songs enjoyed by the people down through history have taken
the stanzaic form and even nowadays nearly all popular songs are composed in
this form.
The position and role of the stanzaic form have been further enhanced in
our times. This is a new historical age, when the masses have emerged as
masters of the world. Today the masses in our country are the independent
makers of history, the true masters of society. They lead honourable lives as
independent people. The art of music, which reflects the requirements of our
age, must naturally adopt in the main the simple popular form of stanzaic
songs.
The musical culture of the ruling class despised and ignored the stanzaic
form. In the exploitative class society, songs of the stanzaic form were looked
down upon as vulgar. Historically renowned composers, too, slighted the
creation of stanzaic songs.
The popular stanzaic form that had been left in the wilderness has now
entered a new age of development. We must promote and encourage the
stanzaic form in every way, to develop music in keeping with the requirements
of the times and the people’s aspirations.
In order to promote and develop the stanzaic form we must sustain its
characteristics in creating songs and make the form more varied and richer.
The repetition of melodies is a major characteristic of the stanzaic form. In
the stanzaic form, melodies should be characteristic and individualistic. Only
such melodies never sound tedious but produce fresh tastes and sound more
impressive as they are repeated.
The repetition of the emotional, meditative and ardent melodic composition
of a stanzaic song draws the listeners into a profoundly musical world, and
makes a deep impression on them.
The repetition of stanzaic melodies requires that the text of the song should
accord with the repetitive character. Each of the several stanzas of a stanzaic
song is allied with the same melodies that are repeated. So each stanza must be
capable of allying with a single metrical pattern. The experience of writing the
song Women, All United, for adapting the classic drama The Sea of Blood to a
revolutionary opera is instructive. At that time the writer wrote the first stanza
in a 4-3 metrical pattern, namely, “Ssarinamu hangachinun kkokki swipjiman,
Arumdurinamunun kkokji mothari!” (A bush clover branch will snap with ease,
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 61

But you cannot break a giant tree), and the second stanza in a 4-4 pattern,
namely, “Kanggisulge moraearun chadonjilsu itjiman, Sankisulge bawinun
umjigiji mothari!” (Though a grain of sand on the river bank may be scattered
with a kick, A rock at the mountain foot cannot be moved). So the words at the
second stanza did not fit the melody, with the result that it had to be stammered
as if singing in recitative form. The words of the second stanza were changed
into a 4-3 pattern as in the first stanza, namely, “Kanggisulge moraearun
hutojiyodo Sankisulge bawinun modumjigiri” (Though sand on the river bank
may be loose, A rock at the mountain foot cannot be moved). The words thus
became not only poetic, but also fitted naturally with the melody, which flowed
in a restrained manner. The repetitive character of stanzaic melodies should be
sustained both in the texts and in the melodies.
No stereotyped pattern should be used for all songs of the stanzaic form.
When I say that the texts of stanzaic songs should be verses of a set form, I do
not mean that all these songs should adopt the same pattern, but that every
stanza of one song should be of the same pattern, so that they fit closely with
the repeated melodies. If the texts of any stanzaic songs are set to the same
pattern, the melodic structure cannot acquire a variety. The melodic structure of
stanzaic songs may take a variety of original forms, for instance, the first,
second and third forms, with their variations. If the texts of these songs are set
to a stereotyped pattern, they cannot use the various forms of melodic structure.
When composing the melodies of stanzaic songs, the composer must not
blindly follow the structures of the texts. If melodies mechanically follow the
texts of songs, it is impossible to expect any new composition. It would be a
mistake to assume that one pattern of the texts of stanzaic songs has only one
musical structure that corresponds to the pattern. The melodies of stanzaic
songs are not supplementary, auxiliary means that depend blindly on the
inflections and structures of their texts, but independent means that result in
independent compositions. Composers must always look at the rhythms of the
texts of songs with a creative eye and know how to create a variety of melodies
that are consonant with the texts and yet are idiomatic.
Stanzaic songs originated in the people’s creative life and have developed to
completion. They are a very active and creative musical form. The stanzaic
form is not restricted to a few set patterns. There are many types of folk songs
of the stanzaic form that have been created by the masses, for instance, short
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songs of one or two stanzas, long ones with several stanzas, and those with
many stanzas that weave exchanges of feelings between characters in an
interesting manner.
Some folk songs have long stanzas that are sung slowly and alternately by
different people while weeding in the fields, and others, like work songs and
round-dance songs, have short stanzas that are repeated continually. Stanzaic
songs have been created by the people in a great variety of structures and types.
In using the repetitive structural form of stanzaic songs, composers must
sustain the excellent characteristics of popular music and create new structural
forms in every possible way.
The stanzaic form is characterized by concise structure.
The stanzaic form takes the contrasting structure of words and melodies that
are alternately sung by different people, so that it is succinct and yet expresses
rich content. The characteristic of contrast between the antecedents and refrains
of the stanzaic form is the popular element that has been shaped by the talent of
the masses of the people in the course of their collective singing. This
characteristic of stanzaic contrast is very effective in expressing rich content
and yet unifies the ideological theme and musical composition through succinct
structures and stanzaic repetition. This has been verified in practice in the long
historical course of the people’s copious musical creation activities. Our folk
songs present a variety of types and structures in which different characters ask
questions and answer them, or a leader skilfully weaves various aspects of life
in his song or sings of an individual’s emotions, and then the next individual or
group responds with a backup stanza, instilling more interest into the song.
These contrasting types and structures of the stanzaic form have been widely
applied to revolutionary songs and our contemporary songs.
The characteristic of succinct contrasting phrases of the stanzaic form,
along with the characteristic of repetition, proved its great effectiveness of
expression in the course of its wide application to the exchange of thoughts and
emotions between characters and between stage songs and pangchang
(off-stage chorus–Tr.), when creating the Sea of Blood-style operas. The
experience of creating these operas opened up a wide road for giving succinct
expression to rich content in vivid and varied compositions by combining a
variety of lyrical description, epic description and dramatic narrative with the
contrasting structure in the use of stanzaic songs. Skilful and various use of
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 63

these excellent popular characteristics can enrich the good characteristics of

stanzaic songs and develop them further.
In order to sustain and develop the stanzaic form, we must not only do so in
the course of creating songs, but also expand it and, on the basis of this, explore
more new structural forms.
The stanzaic form alone is not enough to develop our music in a more
varied and richer manner. Of course, popular songs must take the stanzaic form
in the main for the sake of mass character and simplicity. When necessary,
however, songs can take a relatively more expanded form than the stanzaic
form. In the past, we had an expanded form of masterpieces of songs.
When arranging masterpieces of songs for choruses or instruments, they
cannot but take a more complex and larger form than the stanzaic one. In this
case, too, it should be a principle to preserve and embody the popular nature
and characteristics of stanzaic songs.
The Song of Comradeship for chorus-and-orchestra is a monumental piece
that developed the stanzaic form by enriching musical composition while
sustaining the excellent features of the popular stanzaic form. This masterpiece
sustains the popular character, simplicity and succinctness of the stanzaic form,
makes an effective use of its repetitive character and the structural
characteristics of the antecedent and refrain, and combines them with the
magnificent resonance of orchestral music and large chorus with a consistent
compositional idea to develop a new form of Juche-oriented
chorus-and-orchestral music of our times. We must continue to create many
new forms of this type.
Even when creating choruses, chamber music, light music and large musical
pieces like symphonies, we must sustain the popular character and excellence
of the stanzaic form by directly applying the stanzaic form or on the basis of its
characteristics.
Instrumental music like solo, concert and orchestra requires a unified and
original motif. Most of our instrumental music has masterpieces and folk songs
as its motifs, so that in many cases the motifs take the stanzaic form. An
instrumental work may have one or more motifs. If a motif is rendered in an
instrumental work, the motif is altered or another motif is used in the middle to
introduce contrast into the composition, and then the first motif is repeated to
unify the composition. This type is called a three-part form based on a single
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motif. In the three-part form based on two motifs, two motifs are given in
contrast in the exposition, and these are developed or made to effect a more
complex contrast in the middle. Then the two motifs may be unified in a variety
of methods in the recapitulation.
The principle of contrast and unity is a major item of musical grammar in
the creation of musical works. Composers must continue to create new varieties
of instrumental music forms while observing the rules of musical grammar.
The form of instrumental music that is composed with masterpieces and
folk songs of stanzaic form as motifs must sustain the excellence and
characteristics of the stanzaic form in its motifs.
Even when the motifs are not of stanzaic songs, our music must skilfully
sustain the descriptive characteristics of stanzaic songs. One of the important
descriptive characteristics of stanzaic songs is that the melodies are plain, easy
to sing, simple in structure and easy to appreciate.
Sustaining the melodic and structural characteristics of stanzaic songs is a
principled requirement that must be met in creating expanded forms of music.
Giving full play to the popular character, structural features and excellence of
stanzaic songs in musical form is the mark of the originality of our music,
which distinguishes itself fundamentally from the musical forms of the past.
Even when making use of the musical forms of the past, we must skilfully
sustain the originality of the music of our style. We can use existing forms of
Western classical music to develop our music. But when adopting ready-made
foreign musical forms, we must assimilate them to our originality. The Sea of
Blood-style operas can be viewed as having adopted the existing form of operas
in that they are musical dramas that show life in a dramatic way basically by
using songs and music. However, the Sea of Blood-style operas were created on
an entirely new principle and by a totally new method on the basis of stanzaic
songs and pangchang, so they are new type of operas that basically differ from
the conventional operas. Even the existing form of European classical music
that has been subordinated to Korean music and used in an original way to cater
to the Koreans’ feelings becomes music of our own style.
Even when composing instrumental music, composers must boldly break
the outmoded pattern of conventional forms and methods, and continue to
create new forms of instrumental music of our own style by sustaining the
simple popular elements of the stanzaic form.
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Since olden times our people have composed and sung not only many good
folk songs and others of a small form but also songs of an expanded form. We
must discover and preserve the latter type of works that have been enjoyed by
our people, discard their outmoded elements and develop their wholesome and
popular elements to cater to our contemporary aesthetic tastes and make active
use of them for the development of our Juche music.
We must see to it that stanzaic songs, the basic form of popular music, are
the centre of our musical art, and that the music of complex and expanded form
sustains the popular characteristics of the stanzaic form, so that all musical
works can be truly enjoyed by the people.

3) COMBINING NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

WITH WESTERN INSTRUMENTS IS THE BASIC
PRINCIPLE OF INSTRUMENTATION

Music is an art of beauty.

When I say that music is an art of beauty, I do not imply simply that it
produces beautiful melodies and beautiful consonance. The beauty of music is
derived not only from its beautiful melodies and consonance, but also from the
harmony of tone colours. Music sounds truly beautiful when the resonance of
the sounds of different instruments with their unique tone colours is properly
harmonized.
The task of instrumentation is to select instruments with the required tone
colours for the creation of a musical piece, obtain new timbres by combining
different tone colours in various ways, and harmonize them. Skilful
instrumentation is essential for success in musical creation.
Instrumentation is an important means of musical creation.
There are many forms of ensemble in music. Almost no specialized musical
piece performed on our contemporary stage is purely melodic. Although
melodies are the most important means of expression, they alone cannot sustain
their artistic qualities to the full unless they draw on a variety of forms of
instrumental ensembles, like the accompaniment to solo singing or to solo
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instrumental performance. Correct instrumentation is essential for the efficient

employment of instrumental ensembles, like orchestral music, concert and light
music.
Instrumentation plays a great role in sustaining the national timbre of music.
The national timbre of music is not expressed only by melodies or rhythms.
Ever since the remote past, each nation has made and used musical instruments,
and developed them to cater to their feelings and tastes. In the course of this,
they selected not only the shapes of the instruments but also the materials and
timbres that were agreeable to the national sentiments and tastes. Moreover,
they have preserved them, polishing them over a long period of time so that
they become perfect. Since ancient times, our people have made and used
musical instruments of unique timbres and shapes and continued to develop
them. We should combine instruments properly in order to sustain the timbres
of our national instruments and create music with distinct national timbres.
It is an important Juche-oriented principle of our instrumentation to
combine national and Western instruments for various ensembles of our music.
Combining national instruments and Western instruments is essential for
enhancing the role of our national instruments, modernizing national music and
subordinating Western instruments to the development of our national music.
Our national instruments have tone colours agreeable to the tastes and
emotions of the Koreans, the tone colours which our people have shaped while
creating their national music over a lengthy span of time. These instruments
embody excellent traditions that contain our nation’s resourcefulness and
talents. However, we have inherited the musical instruments of the feudal age
that had failed to benefit from modern technological advances because of the
Japanese imperialists’ policy of obliterating our national culture. These
instruments have quite a few limitations from the point of view of our
contemporary aesthetic tastes. It is, of course, a matter of national pride that
there were fully developed large orchestras in our country in the 15th and 16th
centuries. But these were used by feudal rulers as a means of oppressing and
ruling the masses. As such, they had only the large scales needed for
hypocritical feudal rites and rituals and were not used for secular music, being
kept aloof from the people’s musical life; nor were they improved and
developed on a scientific basis in keeping with the modern trends. It is natural
that such orchestras of the feudal courts cannot cater to the aesthetic tastes of
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 67

our contemporaries. We must, therefore, improve the instruments from the old
society in keeping with modern aesthetic tastes, and develop their orchestral
organization in a new way by combining them with Western instruments.
Western instruments that originated in Europe overcame their feudal
backwardness with the help of the Industrial Revolution and technological
progress, developed into modern instruments on a scientific basis, became
spread beyond geographical boundaries and were accepted as instruments to be
used worldwide. Western instruments found their way into our country at an
early date, and became widespread. We need not discard them nowadays. We
must subordinate them to the development of our national music. However,
having been made and developed in Europe, they are not completely consonant
with our national sentiments and feelings. In order to subordinate Western
instruments to the development of our national music, they must be made to
perform our music and produce timbres in our own style through their
combination with our national instruments, so as to sustain the excellence of
our instruments.
In order to combine national instruments with Western instruments, the
former must first be modernized.
The conventional national instruments which have been handed down from
feudal society, will not combine properly with Western instruments. The
combined organization of national and Western instruments we speak of does
not mean inserting conventional national instruments into Western orchestral
music for the sake of amusement; it means making national instruments the
principal component of the combination, giving prominence to their excellence,
and further developing such orchestral music and other forms of national
ensembles in our own way through such a combination. In order to effect this
combination, national instruments have to reach the level of Western
instruments or be developed and perfected at a higher level than that of Western
instruments. Modernizing national instruments is an important precondition for
realizing their combined organization.
In view of the need to develop national music, we started improving
national instruments in real earnest towards the end of the 1960s, after a long
period of preparation and experiment. We have basically completed this work
in a short period of time.
In improving national instruments, we have preserved their peculiar
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timbres, made the necessary alterations in their shapes and materials, and
adopted new ones when necessary in keeping with the requirements of modern
science and technology. In this way, we have made their timbres clearer and
increased the volume of their sounds. Scientific elements were applied to the
capabilities and metrical system of these instruments to permit the use of
modern methods of performance while guarding strictly against the wrong
tendency of converting kayagum (traditional zither-like stringed
instruments–Tr.) into guitars and preserving the capability to achieve tremulous
and other unique features of our national instruments. Our national instruments
have now acquired modern qualities we can be proud of in the eyes of the
world, in addition to their distinct national characteristics. The success in
making a new, perfectly modern okryugum (another type of zither–Tr.) by
discovering and remodelling an instrument that had been used in the remote
past is of great significance in the development of traditional Korean
instruments. The successful improvements in our national instruments are an
important guarantee for their combination with Western instruments.
An important consideration in the combination of national and Western
instruments is to make national instruments the principal component and
enhance their role.
This is the principled requirement for sustaining the Juche character of
socialist national music. Giving priority to national instruments in the
combination of instruments and making their role more prominent is the way to
make our music truly popular and national.
Of our national instruments, bamboo wind instruments like tanso and jottae
are unique and splendid instruments which produce clear and plaintive sounds
that no other instruments can imitate. We can also be proud of national string
instruments like kayagum, yanggum and okryugum for their unique methods of
performance. Haegum and its varieties produce very restrained sounds which
are agreeable to our people’s feelings. In mixed instrumentation we must give
prominence to national instruments and sustain their excellence and
characteristics so as to display distinctly the characteristics of national forms of
ensemble in concerts of all descriptions and orchestral music.
The scientific combination of national and Western instruments is
important. Mere mixing of these instruments does not automatically produce
the desired effect. They are combined for the purpose of harmonizing their
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 69

different timbres to obtain entirely new timbres suited to modern aesthetic

tastes while producing music in line with national tastes. To this end, it is
essential to harmonize their timbres and sound volumes in a scientific and
balanced manner.
Making national instruments the main component of mixed instrumentation
does not mean increasing only the numerical proportion of national
instruments. On the contrary, sustaining the peculiar timbres of national
instruments and balancing the sound volumes of the instruments should be the
main consideration in mixed instrumentation.
National and Western instruments should be combined in keeping with the
characteristics of the form of each ensemble.
Orchestral music is the largest form of ensemble. It is an extremely complex
and difficult area of creative work, in which each of the string instrument
group, the woodwind instrument group, and brass instrument group should
contribute to harmony between national and Western instruments, and their
combination must contribute to the balance of overall resonance.
There is an overall combination of national and Western orchestral music
and a partial combination. In either case, the sounds of national instruments
should be sustained, and on this basis the combination should be balanced, to
produce new sounds that are national and modern.
Varieties of haegum and violins should be combined at the ratio of 1 to 1 to
produce a third sound. The string instruments of our orchestral music that
have been combined on this principle produce very beautiful and elegant
sounds which are neither the sounds of haegum nor those of violins. These are
unique sounds that no other instruments in the world can produce.
As for the combination of woodwind instruments, national and Western
ones should be combined in a balanced way to obtain a new and unique sound,
refraining from using too many Western woodwind instruments to sustain the
elegant and beautiful sounds of our bamboo wind instruments. This is
important.
There is no need to make national brass instruments by imitating Western
ones. The latter can be used as they are. Excessive use of brass instruments may
interfere with the elegant and restrained sounds of our national instruments.
Brass instruments should not be used too often, but carefully.
When national string instruments like kayagum, yanggum and okryugum are
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used, the Western harp can be dispensed with. As for percussion instruments,
the effect of national instruments like janggo (an hour-glass shaped drum–Tr.)
and kkwaenggwari (a kind of gong–Tr.) should be skilfully sustained. We must
consolidate the success that has already been made in mixed instrumentation
for orchestral music, and further develop our own style of mixed national
orchestral music.
Instruments should be combined skilfully for small instrumental concerts,
too.
A small form of instrumental concert cannot adopt an overall combination.
It should be organized in a small and dainty way by combining a national
instrumental concert partially with a variety of violins or by combining a
Western instrumental concert partially with bamboo wind instruments.
Combinations of national and Western instruments are good also for light
music.
Instruments like saxophones may be needed for light music, but it is
difficult to sustain our people’s national feelings with such an instrument alone.
If light music is composed with the combination of national instruments,
particularly bamboo wind instruments, beautiful and elegant sounds can
increase the charm of light music and enhance its effect.
National timbre should be sustained even in the case of using electronic
instruments or a set of percussion instruments for light music, in keeping with
the world trend of modern music. If electronic instrumental music is performed
in our own style to sustain national tastes, our young people will be attracted to
our music, instead of listening to decadent foreign music.
It is preferable to refrain from using electronic instruments as far as possible
for symphonies or concerts, and even when using them, their number should be
limited to the minimum. If symphony orchestras or concerts use electronic
instruments, they will lose the characteristics of ensembles of classical music
and end up becoming a medley.
The combination of national and Western instruments should always be the
main principle of instrumentation, and the organization of only national
instruments or only Western instruments should be avoided as far as possible.
When necessary, however, only national or Western instruments can be
organized for an ensemble.
There can be no stereotyped instrumentation; it changes with the change of
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 71

the times. Composers must explore new forms of our own national ensembles
and continue to develop them on the principle of making national instruments
the main component of various forms of ensembles and sustaining their
characteristics in the combination of national and Western instruments.

4) ARRANGEMENT IS CREATIVE WORK

(1) Arrangement Enriches Musical Composition

Arrangement enriches musical composition by highlighting the ideological

content and emotional colours of the original piece.
Arranging musical pieces is a creative activity to renew musical
composition by making the original pieces polyphonic, enlarging and altering
their structures or changing the original instrumentation.
There are several types of arrangement–arrangement for accompaniment to
songs, for making the voice polyphonic, for altering instrumentation and for
creating new compositions by developing motifs. Regardless of its types,
arrangement should be regarded as creative work, because it enriches or renews
musical composition.
Arrangement for accompaniment to songs is a kind of creative work that
should not be slighted. Accompaniment plays a large part in emphasizing the
significance of melodies and enriching their emotions. A well-arranged
accompaniment helps the singer to sing naturally and with charm, but an
ill-arranged accompaniment distracts or annoys the singer, so that it interferes
with the singing.
The process of altering instrumentation is not simple. Orchestrating piano
works or rescoring orchestral music for the piano may seem to be a simple
process, but it cannot be successful unless the composer makes efforts to
sincerely study and explore the task. The process of arrangement, however
simple, cannot follow a set formula, distributing voice parts to various
instruments, as if solving a mathematical problem. Arrangement can attain a
good musical effect only when full consideration is given to the characteristics
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of the instruments, the relationship between the tone colours and sound
volumes resulting from their combination, the mode of orchestration and
various other factors.
Arrangement which develops themes to obtain a new composition is a
process of creation that requires more strenuous study and exploration. The
same theme can be arranged for chorus, solo, concert or an orchestral work,
depending on the means of expression, and techniques and structural forms that
are used. Through arrangement the composer can develop themes in keeping
with his creative ideas and enlarge the structures of simple themes to expand
the scale of musical pieces.
An important factor in arrangement is how the composer displays his
creative individuality and originality. The composer who arranges a musical
piece must pay close attention to how he should add new flavour and variety to
the original piece while preserving the character and mood of the original, how
he should use new means of expression and techniques, and how he should
improve the composition by displaying his individuality and originality. That is
why arrangement is not an easier job than the composition of melodies. The
process of arrangement is the process of new musical composition.
Arrangement occupies a very important place in musical creativity in our
country today, and its role is increasing with every passing day.
Our Party has put forward the policy of creating instrumental music on the
basis of masterpieces widely known to the people and folk songs, which are the
wealth of our nation.
Creating instrumental music on the basis of masterpieces and folk songs
means producing musical pieces for instruments by arranging the masterpieces
and folk songs by using the melodies as motifs.
Doing this is an important way to develop our music in our own style and
ensure the popular character of instrumental music.
Our composers have produced a large number of excellent small
instrumental pieces, chamber music works and orchestral works. The
instrumental works that have been rescored on the basis of well-known songs
and folk songs according to the Party’s policy are easily understood, unlike
European instrumental music, by everyone and have captured the hearts of the
people.
Good songs that are widely known to the masses should be sung as solos,
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 73

small ensembles and choruses, and rescored for a variety of instruments. Only
then will these songs be further brightened and made to have a stronger effect
on the education of the masses.
We have encouraged the arrangement of well-known good songs into
various musical types as well as the production of new works. As a result, the
types and forms of music have increased in their variety, and the repertoire and
forms of music-and-dance performances, radio music and TV music have been
enriched.
Arrangement is no less difficult than the composition of new melodies and
requires a high level of creative skill. A musician who cannot rescore his own
compositions cannot be called a composer. If somebody composes only
melodies because he is good at melodic composition and poor at rescoring, and
if somebody does only rescoring because he is skilled at it, he will have
unbalanced abilities. A musician who is skilful at both composition and
arrangement is a real composer.
Composers must make unremitting efforts to be highly skilful at
arrangement and build up their arrangement ability bit by bit through creative
practice.

(2) Arranging Musical Pieces Mainly on the Basis

of Melodies Is Our Own Style

Musical arrangement should be made in our own style.

By our own style of arrangement I mean arranging musical pieces mainly
on the basis of melodies, not rhythm. Sustaining the themes of masterpieces
when rescoring masterpieces for different instruments is a consistent principle
of our own style of arrangement. Rhythm-centred arrangement ignores or
obscures melodies and makes compositions unintelligible.
When rescoring orchestral music, light music and other types of music, we
must arrange them mainly on the basis of melodies and get them tuned to
rhythm. If musical pieces are arranged mainly on the basis of melodies, they
sound good no matter how the rhythm changes.
When arranging musical pieces, you should not ignore melodies for the sake
of sustaining rhythm, nor should you make music monotonous for the sake of
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sustaining melodies. You should arrange them to enrich their overall resonance
and stimulate three-dimensional feelings while sustaining the themes of the
original.
In order to sustain melodies in arrangement, you should refrain from
breaking up the themes.
If you break up a theme, changing its pitch to high or low and dragging it
hither and thither, the melodies will be broken into pieces and drift away from
the emotion characteristic of the original piece and end up making the content
of composition unintelligible. Developing a musical piece by breaking up its
melody is a technique that is employed when developing a musical piece on the
basis of the “instrumental motif” that has been made by the composer. Musical
pieces based on such a technique can be appreciated only by a few experts, not
by the broad masses. Musical pieces must be succinct, convey their meanings
clearly and produce deep emotions.
The method of mutilating melodies to develop music does not accord with
the essential requirement for creating instrumental music on the basis of
masterpieces and folk songs. Because of their high ideological qualities and
rich emotions, masterpieces can stimulate people to strong emotional response
even by a few repeated instrumental performances. Breaking up the beautiful
and meaningful melodies of masterpieces will lower the value of their musical
composition. Once the Phibada Opera Troupe rescored the Cantata to Marshal
Kim Il Sung for piano concerto. In an attempt to sustain the characteristics of
piano music, however, the composer mutilated the melody even before
finishing the first stanza, and arranged it, by rolling it hither and thither as he
pleased, ending up breaking up the original melody into pieces and making it
totally unintelligible. Making a distorted arrangement of the masterpiece, which
is known to every one of our people and sung by them with pious feelings,
amounts to mocking the audience.
We assert the spirit of serving the people in everything, so we must
thoroughly embody this spirit in art as well. Music that is devoid of the spirit of
serving the people is useless; it is no better than playing with sounds. The true
quality of art always presupposes its popular character.
There may be cases when it is impossible to arrange a musical piece with its
theme intact. Especially when the theme is developed in a dramatic way,
various means of composition have to be applied in a diverse way. In this case,
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 75

the technique of treatment and development on the basis of the material of the
theme can be employed. This technique is skilfully applied in A Bumper
Harvest in the Chongsan Plain, an orchestral work, and The Flag of Revolution,
the third movement of The Sea of Blood, a symphonic work. The point at issue
is to sustain the emotions of the original piece and preserve the original tone
colour of the melody in the arrangement of whatever musical piece.
Arrangement should produce fresh musical tastes.
Since human life is varied, and since different people feel different
emotions from music, musical works should be varied and characteristic to
heighten their informative and educational functions.
Different composers with different ideas, feelings, life experience and
artistic preparedness are bound to show their individual characteristics in the
arrangement of musical pieces.
Arrangement can be interesting to listeners only when it is idiomatic and
gives new musical tastes to them. People never tire of good music no matter
how often it is repeated, but an imitated musical piece does not sound fresh
even though it is a new production. You cannot force people to listen to music.
Music which people want to listen to and wish to sing of their own accord is
truly popular music. Arrangement made in a stereotyped way without any
creative effort cannot produce any idiomatic and fresh pieces. Works of art can
be bright and have lasting value only when they are original, individualistic and
unique. Imitation produces stereotypes and patterns, and stereotypes and
patterns end up being the death of art.
In order to achieve characteristic arrangement to produce fresh tastes,
composers must use a variety of means of expression and techniques in an
original way. Original and individualistic application of these means and
techniques can make the ideological content of works clear and increase their
emotional effect.
The manner of using musical vocabulary and techniques depends on the
composers themselves. Those who continue to search for new things with
intense ardour and profound thinking can create good musical pieces that can
catch the people’s hearts, but those who do not do so will not produce a single
piece in their lives that can be remembered by posterity. Because arrangement
is the work of creating new compositions, the more composers use their heads,
the better techniques they can use, which in turn will improve their skill of
76 KIM JONG IL

arrangement and enable them to produce idiomatic works.

The chord plays an important role in musical composition. The timbre of
music depends on how the chord is used. An adjustment of the chord and
rhythm can cloud a bright and merry song or make a solemn song lively.
Because of its peculiar tone colours, the chord may sustain national
characteristics and enhance modern aesthetic feelings. With a correct
understanding of the rich artistic possibilities of the chord, composers must pay
close attention to the search for new chords that accord with our national
sentiments and the contemporary aesthetic tastes.
No matter on what principle it is constructed, and no matter on what basis it
is formed, the chord must be subordinated to enhancing the beauty of the
melody. No matter how grand its style may be, the chord will be useless unless
it emphasizes the profound meaning and noble emotions of a song.
Musical chords should be used in a plain and simple way so as to be
intelligible to the people. If resonance is harsh and the musical flow is unsettled
because of an excessive use of acute discord or the technique of complicated
chords, it may obscure the melody.
Chords should not be dogmatically set to the basic classical pattern, using
the principal chord in a simple way. Depending on the character of the melody,
a variety of discord or the technique of complex chords may be used when
necessary to emphasize the character of the melody and the artistic intention. In
short, chords should be used to sound good to the ear and to accord with the
character and individuality of melodies.
For chords to accord with melodies, their consonance must agree not only
with the notes of the melodies but also with the general mode and mood of the
melodies. Since the chord has a definite mode as musical vocabulary, those of
light music and those of symphonies differ in their modal characteristics. Even
in the same symphony, a profound philosophic mood and a bright folk-music
mood are different from each other and require different mode in the use of
chords.
National characteristics should be sustained in the use of chords.
If we use just the same chords as Westerners do, we cannot sustain the
national characteristics of our music. We must develop national chords of our
own style on the basis of national melodies, chords which are amenable to the
melodies of our own style.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 77

To make fresh and characteristic arrangements, we must also use the

technique of heterophony in a diverse manner. Most of the motifs of our
instrumental works are based on stanzaic masterpieces. So it is necessary to
apply a variety of heterophonic techniques to avoid musical monotony, and
produce rich three-dimensional resonance.
The technique of heterophony must, in essence, be subordinated to
sustaining the primary melody. In arrangement, the primary melody is
developed in a heterophonic manner or with the addition of counterpoints. In
any case the composer must follow the national character and mood of the
theme, and stress its profound meaning and emotions throughout his
arrangement.
Characteristic instrumentation also has a great effect on fresh arrangement.
If you repeat the same manner of instrumentation, you cannot give a new
musical composition a fresh taste. If you rescore songs only in a classical
manner, you cannot sustain musical freshness and modernity. Composers must
have a creative attitude of seeking out fresh ways of combining and using
instruments. Times change and the people’s aesthetic sense and appreciation
undergo constant changes, too. No matter how excellent yesterday’s vocabulary
and techniques, they are bound to develop with the march of time. Finding and
using techniques of composition that are individualistic, original and accord
with modernity and the people’s aesthetic requirements is the key to success in
arrangement.
To be efficient in arrangement, composers must be highly skilful.
However enthusiastic for creation he or she may be or however
profoundly he or she may study, a composer cannot create good musical
compositions unless enthusiasm and study are supported by a high level of
skill. We are against an exclusive emphasis on skills or regarding skills as
absolute, but we give importance to their role in creative work and encourage
them. All the world-famous composers have had high skills. They have attained
their creative ideals by means of high skills and contributed to the development
of music by creating masterpieces that represented history and their times.
Composers must learn from all the progressive and excellent means and
techniques of musical composition of the past and widely apply them, while at
the same time exploring new techniques that cater to the tastes and emotions of
our contemporaries, and make a decisive advance in musical arrangement.
78 KIM JONG IL

(3) Good Planning of Arrangement Is Essential

Arrangement is the work of artistic creation that develops the motif of

music and, as such, it requires a definite order to sustain the musical flow as
well as a design to realize it in keeping with the content of the particular
musical work. A composer’s creative design for the development of a musical
piece is called the planning of arrangement.
Arrangement is not merely a technical process of distributing instruments
and arranging notes in harmony, but a creative work of extending and
enriching musical composition. To be successful in arrangement, therefore,
the composer must evolve the arrangement plan by using creative thinking
and artistic research. Just as it is impossible to build a house without a design,
so is it impossible to expect successful arrangement without a plan. The
composer must attach special importance to planning and draw up a good
musical plan.
Musical planning begins with the selection of the motif. Because in an
instrumental work the motif is the first thing which is presented and on its basis
music is developed, the composer must give preferential attention to the
selection of the motif. Success in arrangement depends on how the motif is
selected.
In the instrumental works of the past, their motifs were supposed to be
reworked and developed in an instrumental style, so efforts were made to seek
instrumental motifs from broken pieces of melodies that could be reworked and
developed rather than from complete melodies. However, we are creating
instrumental pieces on the basis of masterpieces and well-known folk songs, so
we must seek instrumental motifs from melodies which are complete in form
and structure, and capable of being developed into instrumental music.
When arranging instrumental music, we must select musical themes in
keeping with the characteristics of the instrument involved.
When composing small pieces or concertos for solos, motifs should be
selected to suit the characteristics of solo instruments. This is the way to sustain
the expressive force of instruments to the maximum and make their performance
successful. Since instruments have their own characteristic timbres and different
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 79

potential for expression, songs should be selected accordingly.

In arrangement, motifs should also be selected in accordance with the
characteristics of the genre of the works concerned.
Orchestral music, instrumental concert and light music are all characterized
by their genres.
The songs Mungyong Pass and The Snow Is Falling can produce the desired
effects if they are performed by an orchestra or as instrumental concert music.
But this is difficult to do if they are performed as light music. Light music is
suited to merry folk songs, buoyantly lyrical songs and pleasant songs as in
film music. Wind-instrument music is suitable for marches and songs which
accompany dancing.
To make a good arrangement design, it is also important to have a correct
understanding of the characteristics of the original piece.
If you make an arrangement without a correct understanding of the musical
theme of the original piece, you will not be successful. This is because the
theme defines the character and mood of a musical piece, and so a correct
understanding of the musical piece’s melodic characteristics and emotional
colour is the prerequisite for sustaining the characteristics of the original piece,
and extending and enriching them through arrangement. If any song is given
dramatic quality when it is rescored for instruments, the emotional colour of the
original piece cannot be sustained. A simple song should be rescored in a
simple way, and a dramatic song should be reworked so that it remains
dramatic. Stressing dramatic quality in rescoring a simple song in an attempt to
sustain dramatic quality is the expression of the composer’s subjective attitude.
Musical pieces should always be so arranged as to sustain the emotions of their
themes and preserve the tone colours of their melodies.
In order to acquire a precise knowledge of the characteristics of the original
work, you must analyze the profound meaning of the original and how the
elements of the musical language contribute to the expression of the content.
This is the way to get a full understanding of the content of the thematic ideas
of the original and its musical characteristics, and define its musical mood
clearly.
Arrangement should be planned with emphasis on developing the thematic
idea of the original in depth.
The content of musical works has primacy. It defines and restricts the form,
80 KIM JONG IL

and the form follows and expresses the content. Creative work must be
designed to accord with its content and to contribute to the expression of the
content.
An arrangement plan that is not subordinated to the interpretation of the
thematic idea is a plan for the sake of planning, which is a formalistic approach.
Musical formalism does not merely mean the practice of rejecting melodies or
destroying the quality of tonality; the tendency of developing the original piece
on a large scale in disagreement with the artistic content of the theme of the
original, and the tendency of trying to show off one’s skill in disregard of the
overall plan for the development of the theme are both expressions of
formalism. But a plan that is so drawn up as to concentrate all the means and
techniques of expression on interpreting the artistic content of the original
theme is a good plan.
An arrangement plan should be musical.
By planning arrangement in a musical way, I mean drawing up an
arrangement plan that accords with the requirements of musical grammar as
well as conforms with the natural flow of human feelings and emotions.
Music that flows without emotional changes cannot stimulate people’s
emotional interest. Only a devious musical flow, with changes, release and
tension and continuation and accumulation of feelings until emotions come to a
head, can play upon people’s heartstrings.
Emotional changes that are stirred up by musical flow can have an even
stronger effect when the music is composed in accordance with the
requirements of musical grammar.
Just as a language has its grammar, so too does music. Musical grammar is
the rules that should be observed when manipulating the vocabulary and
techniques of music. A random arrangement of sounds does not make a musical
piece. A melody, for instance, is an orderly sequence of notes of different
pitches and duration composed in accordance with established rules. If this
order is destroyed and loses its balance, the melodic expression is weakened
and, worse still, the melody itself loses all its meaning.
Music is developed in a definite order. It is developed on the basis of the
motif in which the basic artistic quality is concentrated. This is the peculiar
mode of musical development, which differs from literature, fine arts and other
types of art. Musical arrangement must fully sustain the characteristics of the
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 81

mode of musical description and, on the basis of this, extend and enrich the
artistic representation of the original work.
The arrangement plan may also vary with musical genres and forms. An
arrangement plan for vocal music differs from that for instrumental music, and
even with the same instrumental works, the rescoring designs for orchestral
music, concerts and solos differ from one another. This is because every work
has its own characteristics.
Arrangement should be planned in a characteristic manner.
Since the artistic contents of themes are varied, and since the genres of
works are diverse, there is no reason to make identical arrangement designs.
Depending on their world views, creative attitudes, cultural levels, tastes and
creative skills, composers are bound to conceive different ideas about the
arrangements of musical works, even those of the same genre. Designs may
vary with the individuality of creative workers and musical works, but the point
at issue is how far these designs can sustain the characteristics of the works.
The study of the structural forms of musical pieces is a good approach to
making characteristic designs.
There are various structural forms of music that have been established down
the ages. The structural form of music is a major form of expressing musical
thinking, and embodies in itself the requirements of musical grammar. Most of
the structural forms of musical works originated in the form of popular music,
developed on its basis, and acquired artistic possibilities and characteristics of
expression which are peculiar to popular music. The structural forms of music
are not immutable; they constantly change and develop with the changes in
times and society and people’s artistic sense.
In the course of musical creation, composers should know how to use
effectively the structural forms that have been established through progressive
musical practice in the preceding periods.
Composers must also pay due attention to discovering new forms that can
express the artistic contents of their works most effectively. In the use of the
existing forms, they must steadily improve and perfect them in keeping with
our people’s developing ideological and emotional requirements, and the
essential character of revolutionary art.
There should be a focus of attention in arrangement.
A flat musical flow is not interesting to the ear. Every part of a musical
82 KIM JONG IL

piece must be tuneful, but one part in particular must attract the special
attention of the audience. This focal point should be set in accordance with the
ideological content of the work and its characteristic emotion. A strong
resonance at the climax is not the only factor that captures people’s hearts. At
times, quiet lyricism on the eve of a storm is much more tense, meditative and
interesting. Such a charming focal point of attention can be treated in various
ways by different means and techniques, depending on the character of each
work. A composer must create an impressive, high-quality composition in one
part of every one of his works by a well-conceived design and high skills.
The design of arrangement should be elaborated down to every detail.
To make a tightly-knit design of arrangement, you should put every
component of the work in the right place, and link them up in a natural way. If
the components are placed at random, without any logical sequence, the
development of the composition will be inconsistent, the music will sound
desultory, and the ideological core of the work will be clouded.
What is important in making a closely-knit design is to ensure that each
component clearly expresses its share of the composition and at the same time
helps to profoundly clarify the ideological content of the theme. To this end, it
is necessary to push ahead with the theme vigorously and concentrate the
musical flow on the thrust of the composition in depth and breadth.
In arrangement, even a chord or an item of counterpoint must appear and
disappear with a definite logical frequency, and reappear in the next stage.
Sometimes parenthetical piece of music may be put in, departing from the main
flow of musical development for a while. But no matter how the means and
techniques of expression are used, they all should be subordinated to
emphasizing the theme and the artistic content; only then can they be
meaningful.
Showing off skills needlessly in orchestral music or in light music only to
make musical flow desultory, or suddenly beating percussion instruments
without accumulation of any feelings is an expression of a poorly-knit design.
The arrangement of large works like symphonies, concertos, and
chorus-and-orchestral music should be closely knit as a result of deep study at
the planning stage. Only a musical design that combines a high level of creative
imagination and logic can clearly express the artistic content of the theme
through natural musical flow.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 83

(4) The Component Parts of Music

Should Be Handled Properly

The creation of a musical work involves the problem of how to handle each
of the component parts of the musical piece.
Only because the form and mood of the work have been defined in the stage
of planning, it does not mean that the musical work is created easily. The design
for the creation of a musical work can be translated into reality only when each
of its component parts is handled properly in the stage of actual creation.
In general, a musical composition is completed through the three stages of
exposition, development and coda. Because of their characteristics, these stages
constitute not only the logical stages of musical flow but also the basic parts
that define the structural form of the work.
In music there are also secondary sections like the introductory section and
connecting section, in addition to the three basic sections. The secondary
sections may or may not be included, depending on the work in question, but in
arrangement even the secondary sections must be subordinated to the fulfilment
of the task of overall composition. The skilful handling of the exposition in
which the musical themes are indicated and the development section is
important in the handling of the component parts of music.
Just as a good start is essential in everything, so in music, too, the beginning
should be good. Music should be started to make a distinct impression on the
audience.
When composing concerts or orchestral music, the composer must pay close
attention even to such details as the assignment of the first theme to a particular
instrument, the mode of combining means of expression for accompaniment,
the voice parts of the chord to be distributed to different instruments, and the
degree of tempo and dynamics. Every single note should be placed on the
staves as a result of artistic thinking and inquiry by the creative worker.
The development of the middle section should be handled with great skill.
This section, lying between the first and the third section, presents an artistic
contrast with the other two sections. The musical composition, which has been
contrasted in the middle section with the first section, attains artistic unity in
84 KIM JONG IL

the recapitulation. Musical contrast and unity are among the basic principles
that govern nearly all musical works.
Human thinking and aesthetic sense always seek stability and balance. If
one side is large and the other is small, balance is destroyed, and the sense of
stability is lost. However, if another large thing is placed on the opposite side,
balance is restored to give the sense of stability. The musical composition,
which has been contrasted in the development section, regains structural
balance and attains artistic unity in the recapitulation. Musical forms evolved
the three-part structure, a rational form, a long time ago. We may say that this is
the logical outcome of man’s musical thinking.
The contrast in the middle section cannot be confined to a few set patterns;
it should be composed in a varied manner with a variety of means and
techniques of expression. Since the characters and moods of themes are varied,
and since the scales of works differ from one another, the composition of the
middle section cannot be fixed by a narrow set of methods.
It is advisable to compose the middle section on the basis of the thematic
material that has been presented in the first section. Then, the theme will run
through the whole work, so that the idea of the work will be clear and
intelligible to the listeners. The development section of the piano concerto
Korea Is One was made on the basis of the theme that is presented in the
exposition. Everyone can understand that the melody in the development
section of this piano concerto, which flows slowly yet earnestly, has been
derived from the melody of the original piece that is dynamic and advancing.
A new melody other than the theme may be presented in the development
section. The new melody in the development section may facilitate contrast
with the exposition and the logical development of the content of the work. In
the symphony The Sea of Blood, the Song of the Sea of Blood was presented in
the exposition of the first movement, and the Song of Punitive Action was given
in the development section. The Song of the Sea of Blood, which gives vent to
the storm of indignation and wrath over the brutal atrocities committed by the
Japanese imperialists, was contrasted with the heartbreaking melody of the
Song of Punitive Action, an outcry from the victims shedding tears of blood,
and then the Song of the Sea of Blood was repeated. As a result, the story
became clear, and variety was added to the music. From the structural point of
view, the first movement was composed of three stages, namely, tension,
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 85

release and tension. The second and third movements of the symphony The Sea
of Blood were also composed of tension, release and tension.
No matter what melodic material is used for the development section, this
middle section is bound to be emotionally contrasted with the preceding
section, and the contrast is intensified by tonality, tempo, musical dynamics and
the difference in instrumentation.
The mode of describing the development section may also be varied. In some
cases it may be level and balanced, while in other cases it may develop very
dramatically, resulting in structural imbalance. The point is to avoid monotony in
the handling of the development section, and use a variety of contrasting
techniques to broaden the spectrum of composition in keeping with the musical
piece’s scale and mood, and clarify their ideological content in depth.
In arrangement, it is important to compose the overture properly. The
overture, which is also called the introduction, precedes the principal section
and plays the role of emotional preparation for the theme. While listening to the
overture, the audience waits in expectation for the music of the principal
section that is to follow.
The introduction should be composed like the orchestral piece A Bumper
Harvest in the Chongsan Plain. Here the melody of the introduction performed
first by the horn in the orchestral music is related in tune to the Song of a
Bumper Harvest, one of the themes of the work.
In the arrangement of every single song, composers must produce music
that is intelligible to the masses and liked by them. They should not compose
music that they alone or a few experts can understand. They must bear in mind
that a composer who thinks that the masses are too ignorant of music to
appreciate his compositions will spend his whole life being unable to compose
a good piece of music, and will be forsaken by the people.

(5) Accompaniment Should Be Arranged Properly

Good arrangement for accompaniment is important in raising the level of

the interpretation of songs. Singers’ interpretation is affected by the quality of
arrangement for accompaniment.
There are many types of accompaniments. Take accompaniment to songs, for
86 KIM JONG IL

example. There are accompaniments to solos, duets, trios, quartets and so on. As
for accompaniment to instrumental works, accompaniments to solos predominate.
While listening to vocal or instrumental solos, the audience hears not only
the sounds of the solos, but also those of the accompaniment. A good
accompaniment enhances the interpretation and quality of the song, but a crude
or too complicated accompaniment impairs the song. Composers must
approach the arrangement of accompaniments with deep consideration and
make efforts for good arrangement.
Accompaniment should be subordinated to supporting songs, and help
singing. It is important in that it adds vigour to the interpretation of songs and
enriches them.
Accompaniment must, in essence, provide unobtrusive support for songs.
If an accompaniment is too loud or stiff, it suppresses a song rather than
supporting it. Only when it supports a song unobtrusively, sustaining the
character and mood of the melody, can the musical piece appeal to the ear and
draw the audience into the music.
Accompaniment should supplement the artistic aim of a song.
Every song has the characteristics of its melodic composition, and needs to
be rendered in keeping with these characteristics, singing some notes strongly,
some notes weakly, some phrases in a gradually rising spiral of emotions, and
some phrases with lingering emotions, as if gradually fading. Listening to
songs, one can perceive tranquil and gentle melodies followed by strong
appeals and loud cries, or caressingly tender melodies changing into
uncontrollable excitement. The accompaniment should support and stress the
artistic aim of the melody.
Rational instrumentation is also important in the arrangement of accompaniment.
Instrumentation for accompaniment music should be varied. Songs may be
accompanied only by the piano or by a number of instruments, like the violin,
cello, and so on, or by an orchestra. The point is to distribute instruments in
keeping with the character of the song, so that the performance of the
instruments achieves the desired effect.
Prelude, interlude and postlude for accompaniment should be well composed.
Prelude and interlude make emotional preparations for songs and lead them
to flow naturally. They also give the audience a taste of songs and lead them
into the world of songs.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 87

Prelude and interlude must not drift away from the emotions of the songs.
The interlude must maintain and intensify the emotions that have been roused
by the song and skilfully lead the song to the next stanza. It is not bad for the
interlude to rise by a tone. This instrumental change of sound can add variety to
the music and infuse fresh life and vividness into the following stanza.
Since the characters and moods of songs are varied, prelude and interlude
should be composed in a varied manner. Some preludes may present only
rhythms. Others may draw out songs by means of choral description. The
musical material for the interlude may be derived from the melodic materials of
the song to which accompaniment is given or may be composed on the basis of
new melodic material. The introduction of new melodic material, however,
should not contradict the basic mood of the song. It should always be so
composed as to stress the emotions and deepen interpretation.
The lengths of the prelude and interlude should be moderate. If the interlude
is too long, the music may drag on and give the audience a feeling of tediousness.
Accompaniment may end simultaneously with the end of the song or later than
the song with the addition of a postlude. Ending the accompaniment
simultaneously with the end of a vocal solo, duet and so on regardless of the
character and emotions of the songs is a stereotype. If a few strokes of postlude
are added to a high-toned song, or if a tranquil postlude is given to a
gently-ending song, the audience can feel deeper and more lingering emotions.
Composers must deal seriously with even a single bar of a prelude, interlude
or postlude. They should spare no effort to enrich the accompaniment.

5) WE SHOULD CREATE MUSIC

OF A VARIETY OF GENRES AND FORMS

(1) Music Should Be Varied

Where there is labour, there are songs; and where there are songs, there is
optimism. Our people’s worthwhile lives in factories, farm villages and
everywhere else are reflected in their happy songs.
88 KIM JONG IL

The people’s requirement for music increases in step with the development
of society and the rise in their cultural standard.
Our people’s cultural standard today is incomparably higher than it was in
the past, and their requirement for music is increasing. People do not listen to
music in order to kill time. Music inspires them with noble and beautiful
emotions, revolutionary enthusiasm, fresh strength and courage. Music can
fulfil its mission and role of educating people ideologically and mentally,
culturally and emotionally only when its genres and forms are developed
continually in a new and varied way.
Developing the art of music in a variety of genres and forms is also needed
to raise the level of music-and-dance performances. A variety of musical genres
and forms can enrich the repertoire of music-and-dance performances.
Developing and enriching the art of music with a variety of genres and
forms is also the requirement of the law of musical development.
Music is classified according to its means and modes of expression largely
into vocal music and instrumental music, which in turn are broken down into
various genres and forms with their different characteristics.
The genres and forms of music are developed and enriched in a new way,
reflecting the people’s aspirations and demands, which increase steadily. This is
illustrated by the process of musical development from classical music to
modern music through romantic music.
Musical genres and forms are developed to become rich and varied through a
continuous process of transforming them or creating new ones after discarding
outmoded ones to meet the demands and aspirations of new periods, not through
the repetition or imitation of the genres and forms of the preceding ages.
The creation of the Sea of Blood-style opera in our country is a good
example that shows that the forms of art change and develop to meet the
demands of the different periods and their contemporaries. Because the operatic
form of the past was outmoded and failed to cater to our nation’s sentiments
and tastes, we ventured to break out of this framework, and created the Sea of
Blood-style opera, a new form of opera of our own style, and performed it
abroad. The Sea of Blood-style opera is a great achievement made by our Party
in its struggle for the development of opera, and its superiority has been
recognized worldwide.
The kayagum solo and ensemble, and the chorus-and-orchestral work, Song
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 89

of Comradeship, which is based on Song of Comradeship, are also new types of

music we have created in an original way. In this manner, we have created new
forms of performance by combining different forms of vocal music or different
forms of instrumental music, or by effectively combining different forms of
instrumental music or vocal music with instrumental music.
We must not rest content with today’s success, but work hard to develop a
greater variety of musical genres and forms.

(2) Efforts Should Be Made to Create

Works of Vocal Music

Vocal music differs from instrumental music in that it uses the human voice
as its basic means of expression and has the texts of songs, which enable people
to understand the ideological content of musical works without difficulty. We
must put fundamental efforts into developing vocal music, the content and
artistic intention of which can be easily understood by everyone, and which can
be sung by the masses with relish in everyday life.
Songs are a musical genre which is most closely linked with the lives of the
masses. Songs are the basic form of popular music; they can be disseminated
easily among the masses and can be sung anywhere and at any time. We must
give priority to the development of songs which are most closely linked with
the people’s lives and can be sung by anyone.
The development of songs is also needed to enhance the revolutionary mission
and role of our music. No musical genre is more effective than songs for organizing
and arousing the masses to turn out for the revolution and construction.
During the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, the great leader attached
great importance to revolutionary songs, and ensured that many revolutionary
songs were created, songs which expressed through vibrant melodies the noble
spirit of the revolutionary fighters who had committed themselves to the sacred
struggle for national liberation. The revolutionary songs inspired the
anti-Japanese guerrillas with unconquerable strength and courage, struck terror
into the nation’s enemies and brought death to them. The great leader said that we
should always bear in mind that a poem can stir up the feelings of thousands of
people, and that our songs could pierce the hearts of the enemy troops beyond the
90 KIM JONG IL

range of our weapons. His instructions illustrate the great role of songs.
Today our people breathe the same air as the Party and are vigorously
struggling to build a new society, loudly singing revolutionary songs.
Composers must develop the art of songs further and create many more good
songs capable of rousing the people powerfully to continue to engage in the
revolution and construction.
We must devote great efforts to the creation of songs in order to develop
other musical genres quickly. If only we have good songs, we can use them for
several voice parts and choruses, and arrange them for instrumental
performances. Our Party has already set forth the policy of creating
instrumental music of varied forms on the basis of masterpieces of songs. To
carry out this policy we must first make innovations in the creation of songs.
Copious production of songs with a variety of themes and moods is the
prerequisite for the creation of new characteristic and excellent instrumental
works to enrich the garden of Juche music.
Good songs are indispensable also for the development of dance, the cinema
and other genres of art. Excellent musical pieces are the prerequisite for the
creation of excellent dances. This has been verified through creative practice.
The group dances Azaleas in the Homeland, The Snow Is Falling and other
excellent dances were produced on the basis of excellent musical pieces. Good
theme songs add fresh flavour and vigour to the images of motion pictures and
raise their artistic levels.
Composing songs of praise to the Party and the leader is important in the
creation of songs.
Respect for the Party and the leader, and the desire to follow them and
praise them highly are unanimous, noble aspirations of our people. Composers
must create songs of praise with high ideological and artistic qualities that
express these noble feelings of our people.
Originally, hymns were a solemn form of music and have traditionally been
sung in chorus. Hymns in our age, however, should be sung solo and by
everyone, as well as in chorus.
Songs about the Party and the leader must be free from fantasy; they must
be composed to be lifelike and full of emotions, and in breadth.
The texts of hymns should be written to be realistic and highly artistic, not
in a flat way. Only then can they have depth and stimulate lingering thoughts.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 91

Songs about the Party and the leader must be bright and highly refined. Hymns
should not be composed to be grave for the sake of solemnity. These songs, like
other songs, should be composed to be full of emotions so that solemn feelings
can be naturally perceived in the flow of bright and restrained melodies.
The Song of General Kim Il Sung is the best of all hymns. This song is easy
to sing; and the more we sing it, the better we appreciate it. So everyone, young
and old, knows it, and many foreigners sing it. The Song of General
Kim Il Sung sounds good when sung by a large gathering or by a group of
marchers. It also sounds good when performed by an orchestra or sung by a
choir. The more we sing it, the greater strength it gives us and the more it
inspires us with national pride and self-confidence in living and working for the
revolution under the wings of the great leader. The Cantata to Marshal
Kim Il Sung is also a well-composed hymn. This fine song was composed by
the People’s Army Song and Dance Ensemble in the 1950s. It has great breadth
and is full of emotions. Its melodies have an emotional variety and
well-organized feelings. Hymns should be composed like these songs.
Many marches should also be created.
Because we are now making a revolution, we must rouse the people to the
revolutionary struggle by means of marches as well as songs. Marches are most
effective in encouraging people to fight for the revolution. Marches are also
needed for military purposes.
The texts of marches should not be drab like slogans, nor should their music
be composed in a strident manner. Their words should express clear political
lines and be artistic.
The music of marches should be solemn and forceful, and yet melodic. The
revolutionary songs Guerrilla March, Song of the Life-and-Death Battle and
Revolutionary Song are marches that inspire people with strength and courage.
When we sing these songs, we feel a gush of an unbreakable will and great
strength to destroy the enemy at any cost. These songs are spirited and forceful
and good to sing because of their rich melodies. Composers must create many
more marches for our revolutionary contemporaries after the examples of the
anti-Japanese revolutionary songs and excellent marches created after liberation.
We need not only militant songs but also lyrical songs. So good lyrical
songs should also be composed. Lyrical songs play an important role in
infusing hope for life and optimism into people and encouraging them to
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continue the struggle to build a new society. Mungyong Pass, My Song in the
Trench and My Dear Home, which were produced during the Fatherland
Liberation War, are excellent lyrical songs. Singing these songs, the soldiers of
our heroic People’s Army fought and defeated the enemy.
We are now living in the age of Juche, in the progressive age of
independence. Composers must create many lyrical songs which throb with the
spirit of the age and reflect the beautiful and noble aspirations of our people.
Our lyrical songs must resound with our contemporaries’ clear emotions,
which are full of confidence in life, ardent creative enthusiasm and
revolutionary optimism. We do not need lyricism that is placid and spiritless.
We need healthy lyricism that is bright and hopeful, and contributes to the
victorious advance of the revolution. Lyrical songs should not sound feeble and
sluggish and be aimed solely at stirring up emotions; nor should they be made
buoyant just for the sake of expressing optimism and ardour. Composing lyrical
songs suffused with gloomy emotions is a deviation. Lyrical songs should be
composed with gentle melodies, to stir up noble emotions and have a lingering
effect on the audience.
Lyrical songs should be simple and plain. Composing them to be difficult to
sing in an attempt to raise the level of their artistic qualities is skill-centredness,
an expression of formalism. The people like simple songs of high artistic quality.
We Will Remain Single-Heartedly Loyal to the Revolution is one of the best
lyrical songs. This song was composed when the classical masterpiece, The Sea
of Blood, was being adapted for the screen. The song convinces us that we are
fully able to compose new lyrical songs of our own style that cater to our
national sentiments and modern aesthetic feelings. Formerly, our composers
regarded lyrical songs as something that usually needed high-pitched phrases
and composed them to be difficult to sing. Composers may need such songs,
but the broad section of the population does not. We Will Remain
Single-Heartedly Loyal to the Revolution sustains beautiful and restrained
national melodies, and is simple and elegant. Composers must produce a lot of
beautiful and restrained lyrical songs which reflect our people’s noble thoughts
and feelings and aspirations, and are easy to sing.
Work songs, dance songs and songs about life should be produced in large
numbers. Through these songs people feel the joy of work and the worth of life,
and are encouraged to continue the struggle to build a new society.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 93

In the creation of works of vocal music it is important to compose good

melodies for choruses and for several voice parts. Even though these melodies
are composed on the basis of songs, their characteristics for both choruses and
several voice parts should be maintained.
The melodies for several voice parts comprise duets, trios, quartettes,
quintets and so on. So the characteristics of voice parts should be sustained, and
yet there should be overall harmony.
Melodies for choruses should also be well composed. These may be created
anew or may be produced by arranging solos or songs for several parts that are
suitable for choruses.
Unaccompanied choruses should also be developed. We have few
unaccompanied choruses at the moment. These choruses are more difficult than
choruses with orchestral accompaniment, and require greater skill. Only when
you hear the unaccompanied rendering of a chorus can you judge the level of
its ensemble. An unaccompanied chorus can only be effective when the chords
are well composed, and the voice parts are made interesting. In the past,
humming at the beginning and end of unaccompanied choruses was almost a
set pattern. But we must sing unaccompanied choruses in our own way to cater
to the feelings of our people regardless of foreign practices.
We must also develop the form of kayagum solo and ensemble.
Originally, kayagum used to be played by a single vocal soloist while
singing. After liberation, this genre developed into an ensemble in which
several singers played kayagum while singing at the same time. But this sounds
flat and drab. This is neither a concerto nor singing by several voice parts. It is
a medley. It is advisable to perform kayagum ensemble in the form of mixed
orchestral accompaniment to vocal solo and kayagum ensemble.
The form of chorus-and-orchestral music should be developed.
This is a new genre of vocal music that has been explored and developed in
our country. In this genre, the chorus and orchestral music are not separate; it is
an original musical genre that organically combines the two components in a
single system of ensemble.
The Song of Comradeship is the representative work of the form of
chorus-and-orchestral music. This is a large form of ensemble that consists of
solos, several voice parts and orchestral music. Formerly, even the best of songs
used to be arranged for a chorus of a few stanzas, with a prelude and interlude.
94 KIM JONG IL

By contrast, the Song of Comradeship combined songs and orchestral music

with great skill, so that it broadened musical composition to raise its artistic
quality. The chorus-and-orchestral music is our own style of vocal ensemble
that has been created by developing the form of stanzaic songs in an original
way. The production of the Song of Comradeship was followed by the creation
of many works of the same genre such as We Will Travel One Road Forever,
and Thousands of Miles Following the Leader and the Party. In future, too, we
must develop this type of large vocal ensemble.
In developing this genre, it is important to overcome stereotypes. Since the
chorus-and-orchestral music genre organically combines many forms of vocal
music with both male and female voice parts and orchestral music, and sustains
the characteristics of stanzaic songs to the fullest, you will be perfectly able to
give variety to the composition of works and the technique of arrangement. A
high degree of creative enthusiasm and ceaseless study and inquiry can produce
individualistic and original works.

(3) Instrumental Works of Our Own

Style Should Be Created

Instrumental music, along with vocal music, is one of the two major
components of the art of music. Without developing instrumental music, it is
impossible to advance the art of socialist national music to the full.
In the European history of music there were what was called a period of
vocal music and what was called a period of instrumental music. But this was
not an inevitable process of the development of musical history. That may be
said to be the consequence of socio-historical limitations due to the monopoly
of music by the feudal ruling class. In our age, when the masses have emerged
as the makers of history, both vocal and instrumental music should be equally
developed, so that the art of music can be truly enjoyed by the masses in their
cultural and spiritual lives.
Our Party proposed an original policy of developing instrumental music in
our own way, and has worked hard to implement this policy. As a result, many
excellent pieces of instrumental music have been created, and these are
contributing to the ideological and cultural education of the working people.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 95

Our instrumental music, along with our vocal music, has now developed into a
popular and national music, a truly Juche-oriented music that captures the
hearts of the masses.
Instrumental music must translate our people’s noble spiritual world, which
is developing with the times, into beautiful and rich artistic composition to meet
their cultural and emotional demands more satisfactorily.
We must develop the instrumental music of our own style that is refined and
easy to understand.
We must produce many small and pleasing pieces of instrumental music.
Small pieces of instrumental music are concise in structure and easy to
perform at any place and at any time. This is a good form of music.
Instrumental solos should be composed to be pleasing and refined, and a
variety of works should be created, ranging from easy ones to those requiring a
high level of skill.
Solos for both national and Western instruments should be produced. We
have many national instruments upon which one can perform solos. Stringed
instruments like kayagum and haegum and woodwind instruments like tanso,
jottae, and jangsaenap are good for performing solos. Okryugum in particular
has a clear timbre and can be played in varied ways. So, if good works are
composed for it, it can serve as an excellent solo instrument for any occasion.
Composers must create many small pieces of a variety of forms and moods
suited to the characteristics of musical instruments to contribute to the
development of instrumental music.
Chamber music should also be developed in our own way.
Chamber music literally means music intended for performance indoors.
However, it is an instrumental ensemble that can be performed not only in a
small audience hall but also on a large theatrical stage. In the old days, chamber
music was referred to as instrumental solos or ensembles, normally having
several movements in sonata form. Nowadays, there is no need to write such
compositions for chamber music.
We must use our masterpieces as the basis on which to create varied and
characteristic instrumental ensembles of our own style that effectively combine
a variety of instruments.
We organized a women’s instrumental ensemble in the Mansudae Art Troupe
a long time ago, and have built up its foundation to some extent. This
96 KIM JONG IL

instrumental ensemble has its unique characteristics in that it is not only an

all-female group, but also its instrumentation is original and the form of its
performance is simple and yet elegant, noble and refined. The excellent successes
in art that have been achieved by this women’s instrumental ensemble are widely
known abroad as well as to the public at home, and arouse a good response.
Many art troupes are now working hard to develop the form of instrumental
ensemble, and this is admirable. Meanwhile, repeated contests between
instrumental ensembles have stimulated interest in this type of ensemble and
the demand for it. We can say that the level of performance has risen to a
certain extent. However, much more inquiry and effort should be made to
develop instrumental ensembles in our country.
In developing instrumental ensembles, it is important to create works by
sustaining the characteristics of instrumental ensembles.
Chamber music in general should be delicately individualistic and
independent. Instrumental ensembles need simple features and noble artistic
refinement. Only then can they fulfil their tasks and have a greater artistic
effect. At one time in the past, an art troupe in the capital arranged Snowflakes
Falling in the Night Sky for instrumental ensemble, contrary to the mood of the
original piece. This is a simple song with beautiful melodies, but the middle
part of it was rescored dramatically allegedly for the sake of contrast, and
emphasis was placed only on its dramatic character. In consequence, the
simplicity of the song disappeared, and an impression of gathering dark clouds
instead of falling snowflakes was given. The attempt at symphonic
dramatization in a simple instrumental ensemble was the expression of the
composer’s subjective idea. An instrumental ensemble must, in essence, stress
clearness and clarity.
To develop instrumental ensemble music, it is necessary to organize
ensembles characteristically in a varied manner. There is no need for other art
troupes to imitate the organization of the women’s instrumental ensemble of the
Mansudae Art Troupe just because it is exemplary. The Mansudae Art Troupe
just itself does not organize the ensemble always in the same way, but in
various ways by organizing trios, quartets, and quintets. Instrumental ensemble
music should be performed sometimes only with string instruments, sometimes
with a combination of string instruments and woodwind instruments, and in
various other ways.
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 97

National instrumental ensemble music, too, should be organized in a variety

of ways. As matters now stand, our ensembles are composed mainly of national
woodwind instruments. New experiments including kayagum and okryugum
should be made.
In the field of instrumental music, efforts should also be put into the
development of symphonies.
Although the history of symphonic music in our country is not long, an
excellent symphony orchestra and excellent creative force have been built up
under the correct guidance of the Party, and they have a very promising future.
Some of our people in the past thought that they should perform Beethoven’s or
Tchaikovsky’s symphonies if they were to go in for the symphonies. They made
a fetish of Western symphonies, and when composing our symphonies they
imitated Western ones. Such music was not liked by the people. Those who
worshipped Western symphonies scorned the masses, saying that the masses did
not understand symphonies because their cultural standard was low. They were
sycophants, without exception, and they themselves were ignorant of music.
Music such as symphonies or concertos was originally related to the life of
feudal aristocrats. Most of the composers in those days belonged to the middle
class or depended upon the rich for their livelihoods. So they were obliged to
compose music that catered to the tastes of the aristocracy and the upper
stratum of society. Many of the renowned composers in the old days were
employed by musical troupes in the service of royal courts or aristocrats. A
considerable number of their compositions were dedicated to individual
members of the nobility. We must approach European classical music with a
correct understanding of its social and class limitations of the period in which it
was composed.
Certainly, European classical music is part of the valuable cultural wealth
that has been created by humanity. We need knowledge of it and the skill to
perform it better than other people. However, we need not imitate it when
developing our own symphonic music. We must firmly adhere to the principle
of developing the symphony in our own way so that it is agreeable to our
people’s tastes and feelings.
We have worked hard to establish the Juche orientation in the field of the
symphony and, as a result, have produced and performed many symphonic
pieces that are national, popular and modern. The Sea of Blood and a number of
98 KIM JONG IL

other symphonic pieces, A Bumper Harvest in the Chongsan Plain, Arirang and
many other orchestral pieces, Korea Is One, a piano concerto, and violin
concertos like Nostalgia have all been composed on the basis of our famous
songs. These are excellent symphonic works with a high level of ideological
and artistic qualities, compositions that can be understood easily by everyone.
Their high ideological and artistic qualities are attributable not only to their
significant themes, but also to their large scale, great breadth of resonance,
varied orchestral timbre, active musical development and rich symphonic
character. Our symphonies have now become truly popular symphonies that
capture the hearts of the masses. A national symphony orchestra gave a
performance in a workers’ district and got an encore from the workers. This
proves that the symphonic works of our own style touched their hearts and were
wholeheartedly accepted by them.
Our symphonic compositions, however, are small in number, and lack
variety in their genres and forms. In future we must create many more and
better symphonic works to develop Juche-oriented instrumental music to a
higher level.
Composers must produce a variety of idiomatic structural forms of works,
modes of orchestral combinations and timbres, make active use of chord,
heterophony and other means of expression, and create characteristic and
individualistic symphonic works.
The suite is a good orchestral form. A suite can be composed on the basis of
folk songs or other songs, as well as on the basis of motion-picture music. A
cinematic suite is composed using a combination of theme songs of films. So it
should include not only orchestral music but also songs, so that the related
screen scenes can be presented or shown by means of slides. The cinematic
suite may carry a narrative with the support of orchestral music.
Light music should be well composed as part of instrumental music.
Light music literally means light pieces, and as such it is a genre of popular
music that is distinguished from chamber music and symphonic music. It is
popular especially among young people and inseparable from their optimistic
and hopeful lives.
We must compose a lot of light music of our own style that is bright,
cheerful and true to life.
The light music of our own style should be centred on melodies. We should
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 99

not imitate foreign light music that is centred on rhythms. Since we have the
Korean style of melodies and rhythms, we need not copy foreign rhythms.
Rhythm-oriented light music is not agreeable to our national sentiments and to
the characteristics of music itself. Even foreign light music, which used to be
centred on rhythms, is now being switched over to emphasize on melodies.
Light music should be thoroughly based on melodies.
Light music should be arranged by selecting songs that are suited to it, and
by sustaining its characteristics so that it is interesting and light. It should be
rescored in an interesting way by effecting variety, using the guitar where the
guitar is apt, and using the accordion where the accordion is appropriate, in
accordance with the characters of the songs. If voice parts were assigned
equally to every instrument, it would be impossible to keep the characteristics
of light music.
Including national woodwinds in the instrumentation for light music is very
important in the development of our own style of light music. My Country
Overflows with Songs Everywhere, a light music and folk-song ensemble piece
produced by the Phibada Opera Troupe several years ago, was performed with
national woodwinds in the instrumentation, and their timbre was specially
characteristic and very pleasant to the ear. Including bamboo-winds in the
instrumentation for light music is a new discovery. The inclusion of tanso,
jottae or phiri and the like in light-music instrumentation can change its timbre
and be more in keeping with Korean tastes.
Composers specializing in light music are needed to develop light music.
Light music is not easy to compose. Gaining a good command of light music is
the way to compose it skilfully because light music has its own characteristics.
We must create our own style of light music of modern Korea, which is neither
European in style nor in the style of the traditional opera troupes, but popular,
national, fresh and wholesome.

(4) The Sea of Blood-style Opera

Should Be Further Developed

The Sea of Blood-style opera is a new type of opera that reflects the
requirements of our times. It brilliantly embodies the idea of Juche-oriented art
100 KIM JONG IL

and literature, and has set a genuine example of the socialist and communist art
of music which is revolutionary and socialist in content and popular and
national in form.
The emergence of opera in human history can be viewed as the expression
of the progressive trend towards changing the art of music from the monopoly
of the ruling class into a theatrical art for the masses. In the several centuries
since the emergence of opera, however, no opera has ever reflected the people’s
aspirations, thoughts and feelings in its content and form so truthfully as
required by times as the Sea of Blood-style opera has done. We must
consolidate the valuable success made in the creation of the Sea of Blood-style
opera through operatic revolution and further burnish our Party’s great
achievements in the development of revolutionary opera by producing many
more excellent new operas with high ideological and artistic qualities.
In order to develop the Sea of Blood-style opera, we must explore a variety
of operatic themes and moods.
We must put special efforts into operatic works which deal with the struggle
of the working class.
Creating a large number of artistic and literary works describing the
working class is our Party’s consistent policy for the development of art and
literature.
Producing operas that deal with typical examples of the working class who
are unfailingly loyal to the Party and the leader is important in encouraging Party
members and other working people to emulate the revolutionary ideas,
unbreakable spirit and noble features of the working class and prepare
themselves as Juche-type revolutionaries. We must create operas dealing with
the typical examples of the working class who follow the Party and the leader,
and staunchly struggle in defence of the Party’s lines and policies in any
adversity whatsoever to ensure that all Party members and working people live
and struggle like the heroes of the operas.
Modern and classical works should be combined to create a variety of
themes and moods of the Sea of Blood-style opera.
Properly implementing the principles of history and modernity is important
in scoring national classical works into Sea of Blood-style operas. When
creating the national opera The Tale of Chun Hyang for the first time, Wol
Mae’s character was not defined from a modern point of view, but was
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 101

described as an essential character as had been done in the old days, and she
was made to sing in the antique phansori style. In that opera, the simple
character of Wol Mae, a maltreated and outcast mother, was not represented
truthfully, and this resulted in destroying the unity of the mood of the beautiful
and restrained music of the opera dealing with the love affair between Chun
Hyang and Mong Ryong. Chun Hyang’s maidservant Hyang Dan and Mong
Ryong’s manservant Pangja were represented as flighty and dissolute. In
consequence, their class character was obscured.
These shortcomings in the characterization of Wol Mae, Hyang Dan and
Pangja, and other defects have been rectified from today’s point of view and, as
a result, the national opera The Tale of Chun Hyang has become an excellent
new type of national opera that is based on the creative principles of the Sea of
Blood-style opera.
Creative workers must develop a variety of themes and moods of the Sea of
Blood-style opera by finding correct solutions to the aesthetic problems arising
in the creation of new operas.
We must fully implement the creative principles of the Sea of Blood-style
opera in order to develop it properly.
Thoroughly implementing the Party’s policy of making songs stanzaic is
most important in creating Sea of Blood-style operas.
The Sea of Blood-style opera is a new type of opera that differs
fundamentally from conventional operas in its dramatic mode and dramaturgy.
One of the characteristics of its musical dramaturgy is that songs do not
mechanically follow speech, actions and dramatic scenes, but define the overall
mood of operatic music and emotionally generalize the dramatic scenes and the
inmost world of the characters. These songs are ordinary stanzaic songs, unlike
recitatives or arias, the musical form of the conventional European style of
opera, that mechanically follow dramatic actions and situations.
The method of ensuring the unity of operatic scenes and music does not lie
in making songs follow only speech, actions and situations, but in musically
generalizing scenes and situations and in making each song beautiful and
restrained, and sustaining the drama by means of the composition of songs and
orchestral music. A song that generalizes life in depth can be a sad song if the
singer sings it sorrowfully, whereas it becomes a cheerful song if the singer
sings it cheerfully. The song Where Are You, Dear General? in the
102 KIM JONG IL

revolutionary opera A True Daughter of the Party sounds sad and serious when
sung by the heroine in the scene at the Thaebaeksan Hospital, but romantic
when sung in the scene of her dream in which she sees the Supreme
Headquarters.
In creating operas we must compose beautiful and restrained stanzaic
masterpieces on the creative principle of the Sea of Blood-style opera so that
these songs accord with the people’s feelings and are enjoyed by everyone.
In order to thoroughly implement the creative principles of the Sea of
Blood-style opera we must weave dramas skilfully with stanzaic songs.
To this end, it is necessary to write good principal songs. An opera needs its
theme song around which various principal songs are composed. All the songs of
an opera must be good, especially the principal songs, which must be
masterpieces. Only then can the melodies of these songs be repeated as the motif
to emphasize the mood of the opera, other songs be derived from the motif and
the mood of the opera unified.
Of the principal songs, the theme song must be handled with special skill.
The theme song is the most important of all the principal songs, and
represents the thematic idea. Being repeated at major stages and moments of
dramatic development, the melodies of the theme song must serve as the pivot
for establishing the overall line of the opera and unifying its mood.
An opera has several dramatic lines, and among them there is a central line
through which the seed of the work and its thematic idea run. The melodies that
are repeated on the central dramatic line must become the theme.
In the revolutionary opera, The Sea of Blood, adapted from the classical
masterpiece of the same title, the orchestra plays the theme Sea of Blood in the
prologue and repeats it in the scene of the sea of blood of wrath and in the
scene of the sea of blood of resistance and struggle to clarify the idea of the
seed of the work that the sea of blood of wrath should be made the sea of blood
of resistance and struggle. Also in the revolutionary opera The Flower Girl , the
theme Every Spring is played in the prologue and then repeated through the
song The Red Flowers of Revolution Are Coming into Bloom in the finale to
clarify the profound idea of the seed that the flower basket of sorrow and filial
duty becomes the flower basket of struggle and revolution. In the revolutionary
opera The Sea of Blood, the theme of a principal song Do Not Cry, Ul Nam in
Act I is repeated in Act VI through the song Bringing Medicine for Your Mother
 2. MUSICAL COMPOSITION 103

to emphasize the role of Ul Nam and clearly show the process of his growth. In
the creation of Sea of Blood-style operas, efforts should be made to use themes
and principal songs effectively, the technique of repeating themes should be
sustained accordingly, and attention should be paid to deriving all the other
songs from the themes to ensure the unity of the mood of operatic music.
In order to weave a drama effectively by means of stanzaic songs, it is
necessary to build up life skilfully by means of stanzaic songs in the musical
organization of feelings.
The skilful buildup of life with stanzaic songs is a major characteristic of
Sea of Blood-style dramaturgy as well as an effective method of developing the
operatic drama. Dramatic development in Sea of Blood-style operas is not
effected through the replacement of dramatic scenes by recitatives and through
the change of lyrical scenes by songs like arias, as is done in the conventional
operas; it is effected by an original technique of building up feelings by means
of stanzaic songs that musically generalize every dramatic scene and of leading
the built-up feelings to a head through principal songs and other important
songs, thus advancing the drama. In the revolutionary opera The Flower Girl
life is built up by stanzaic songs in the scenes where Kkotpun, the heroine, is
maltreated and insulted, and the feelings come to a head and dramatic emotions
surge up in the scene of “pleasure street,” where the kindly druggist gives her
medicines so that the audience has deep sympathy for her. When the national
opera The Tale of Chun Hyang was being created a lengthy scene was written in
which Chun Hyang and Mong Ryong bade farewell to each other, without any
proper background to their lives. In consequence, they were described as
parting as soon as they were engaged, and even the scene of their farewell was
not represented in a lifelike manner. This was a shortcoming that resulted from
the failure to meet the requirements of the Sea of Blood-style dramatic
organization for building up background skilfully by means of stanzaic songs.
Later, the scene of farewell was condensed, and the background was presented
by good stanzaic songs in the preceding scenes to show how their love had
grown in depth. As a result, their relationship of love could be shown in a
lifelike manner in the first half of the opera and the expression of their feelings
in the farewell scene became realistic.
After defining the major stages of dramatic development and setting the
principal songs and other important songs, it is necessary to build up the
104 KIM JONG IL

background to the plot and bring feelings to a head properly by means of

stanzaic songs by organizing feelings down to every detail.
In the Sea of Blood-style operas, the function and role of pangchang
(off-stage chorus–Tr.) should be enhanced.
Pangchang in this style of opera is an effective technique we have
discovered and introduced. Because of its versatile descriptive capabilities, it
serves as the most effective form that permits a full freedom of dramatic
organization in operas. We must make active use of the versatile descriptive
capabilities of pangchang in the creation of operas and further enhance its
function and role by discovering its further capabilities.
Enhancing the role of the orchestra is also important in thoroughly
implementing the principles of the Sea of Blood-style opera.
Orchestral music in operas should not merely play the role of mechanically
connecting stanzaic songs. In operas, it is important for orchestral music to
unify stanzaic songs in accordance with their moods and the plots. When
creating the revolutionary opera A True Daughter of the Party good stanzaic
songs were composed, but they were not unified, so orchestral work had to be
corrected over and over again. Since operatic orchestral music has its own
function, it must be handled in accordance with its function.
We must ensure that the thematic ideas and characters of opera stand out in
bold relief on the basis of unified musical composition that organically
combines the basic means of expression of the Sea of Blood-style opera, such
as stanzaic songs, pangchang and orchestral music, and must combine them
closely with performance, direction, dancing and stage decor so as to display
the creative force of the Sea of Blood-style opera as a form of mixed art.
 105

3. PERFORMANCE

1) PERFORMANCE IS A CREATIVE ART

Musical performance is a basic means of rendering musical works as

complete artistic interpretations. Performance plays an important role in
enriching the ideological content of the themes of musical works, rendering
them as varied artistic interpretations and carrying out the informative and
educational function and mission of the art of music.
Since a musical work is completed through the two stages of composition
and performance, skilful performance as well as good composition is important.
Even a masterpiece can prove its worth only through skilful performance. Even
a good piece of music cannot make a deep impression on the audience if its
performance is poor.
Performance is a creative undertaking to give resonance to musical works
which are written on staves. It is a special field of musical interpretation, and a
musical work must go through the process of performance to flower into a
living interpretation.
In literature and fine arts the creative process is finished when the creators’
ideas have been expressed in writings or in pictures, but in music the creative
process is not complete even when the composers’ creative ideas have been
placed on the staves. A musical work that has been created by the composer can
acquire the living breath of interpretation only through the process of rendition
by the performer. Of course, in music too, the composer’s creative work is
finished when he has completed his notation. But in music, in which people
perceive through their ears the inmost human world and the emotions of
experience reflected in works, the process of translating completed notations
into real resonance is indispensable. The interpretative work of meeting this
106 KIM JONG IL

requirement is none other than performance. Musical works presuppose their

representation through performance, and performance inspires the created
works with living breath. This is the creative method unique to music.
Performance is a creative art. It represents musical works through real
resonance, but it does not mechanically reproduce them; it is characterized by
the performer’s creative individuality that works actively on the emotional
content of the notation to supplement and enrich it.
Correctly reproducing a musical work in accordance with its notation is the
primary requirement for performance. This does not mean, however, that no
creativity should be displayed in performance. Performance has its own share
of interpretation and unique world of creation.
The thoughts and feelings reflected in works are enriched by performance.
It is difficult to put into simple notation the psychological phenomena of human
life, which are far more rich, delicate and complex than its external phenomena.
Delving into people’s lives and their innermost world, the composer notes the
essential and pure thoughts and feelings. But that does not mean limiting the
possibilities of interpretation in expressing the thoughts and feelings contained
in musical works. Skilful performance can vividly sustain even the intangible,
delicate aspects of feelings that cannot be expressed by notation and can greatly
broaden the emotional world of music. Suppose a musical work reflects our
people’s feelings of happy and worthwhile lives. Performance contains these
feelings of depth from various angles, by expressing inward emotions softly
and quietly, and expressing surging emotions warmly and intensely. If
performance subtly sustains by means of sounds the delicate aspects of feelings
that cannot be expressed fully by the notation, the interpretative world of the
work will be so much the fresher and the more fertile.
Musical performance amplifies the composer’s artistic ideas and broadens
and deepens them.
There can be no performer’s interpretation that is separated from the
composer’s artistic ideas. The process of the performer’s interpretation is the
process of vividly realizing the composer’s artistic ideas in depth. The
performer’s creativity in musical interpretation is motivated by his desire to
realize the composer’s artistic ideas.
The composer’s artistic ideas are presented in the notation in the form of
musical symbols. These symbols, however, are not a complete expression of his
 3. PERFORMANCE 107

artistic intentions; they only emphasize the basic requirements that should not
be overlooked in musical interpretation. No matter how many musical symbols
he or she might use, it would be impossible for the composer to put all the
requirements of intended musical interpretation in the notation. Rendering and
deepening the composer’s musical intentions, which are incapable of being
presented by means of musical symbols, is the original, creative realm of
performance. If musical symbols are presented with the requirements for
widening the breadth of interpretation in some part of a musical piece and for
altering the tempo in some part, the degree of changes in the width and tempo
should be determined by the performance. When the composer’s musical
intentions are grasped from various angles through every single musical symbol
and are translated into audible reality in breadth and depth, the interpretation of
the musical piece will sound so much the more impressive.
Performance has its own means and techniques of expression with which to
create original musical interpretations.
Performance depends on voice parts with different timbres and ranges, and
on the rich expressive force of instruments, and employs techniques of
expression such as dynamics, tempo, phrasing, vocalization and colouring.
These techniques provide full possibilities to continue to create a variety of
fresh musical interpretations by means of original performance.
Vocal and instrumental performances produce different musical flavours.
The effect of the vocal rendition of the same musical piece varies with male or
female voice, tenor, bass or baritone. The effect of instrumental performance
also varies, depending upon whether national, Western, string, woodwind or
brass instruments are used.
The character of music also varies with the performance techniques used.
Even the same melody can produce different feelings depending on the strength
and tempo of performance and on the manner of musical breathing,
vocalization and tone colours.
Skilful performance through effective use of means and techniques of
expression can create idiomatic musical interpretations, and artistically deepen
the ideological and emotional content of notations so as to make music
impressive.
Performance involves three stages of interpretation.
To create a complete musical interpretation, a performer must go through
108 KIM JONG IL

the stage of studying the work in hand, the stage of practising performance, and
the stage of raising the level of performance by sustaining feelings. For
example, a singer who is to interpret a song must first grasp the purport of the
song to the full, solve the problem of singing it sweetly, and then raise the level
of interpretation. The stages of understanding, practising and interpreting are
the sequential processes of rendition, none of which should be skipped over or
replaced with another. Without passing through these stages in sequence, it is
impossible to succeed in carrying out the difficult and complex work of musical
creation, the task of rendering a musical work completely on the stage.
A performer’s work of musical creation begins with the study of the work in
hand.
Studying and grasping the work in depth is a prerequisite for skilful
rendition. The performer can successfully sustain the characteristics of the work
through his performance only on the basis of his understanding of it. Only
when he has fully grasped the work can the performer plan his musical
interpretation correctly, and on this basis skilfully employ the means and
techniques of performance, excellently sustaining the characteristics and
requirements of the work, ranging from melodies and chords, rhythms and
modes of combining means of expression, to instrumentation. Unless the
performer studies and grasps the purport of the work thoroughly, the
performance will end up as an extempore one, making the interpretation
subjective.
A musical work cannot be understood and grasped properly through a mere
cursory reading once or twice. The performer can only grasp the ideological
and emotional content of the notation and the characteristics of the musical
form and render them when he or she has closely examined and analyzed the
work in relation to the composer’s individual approach to his creation.
The performer’s work of musical creation is developed in depth through the
process of practising his performance.
After grasping the purport of the work, the performer’s efforts must be
concentrated on performing it correctly and skilfully in accordance with the
notation. Otherwise, the performer will be unable to enter into the world of
musical interpretation and express the feelings of the work properly.
The problem of correct and skilful performance in accordance with the
notation can be resolved only through the process of tireless practice. A
 3. PERFORMANCE 109

performer who is not proficient cannot fully meet the requirements of

interpretation. He or she must continue to practice until all the technical
problems of performance indicated in the notation are completely solved and
the music is completely mastered. Only then can he or she ensure a high level
of interpretation every time without the slightest mistake by always maintaining
correct intervals and tempo.
The performer’s work of musical creation is completed through the process
of making the interpretation mature by sustaining the feelings of the work.
When the performer has fully grasped the musical work and has become
proficient in performing it with confidence, he or she has only the remaining
task of completing the musical interpretation by expressing his or her feelings
in performance. At this stage the performer is immersed in the musical world
and can express the feelings of the work truthfully by clearly sustaining the
musical interpretation. When musical feelings are impressively expressed in
emotional depth through refined performance, the musical rendition is
completed, and the work of interpretation is successfully finished.
Masterly composition and masterly performance are the basic objectives of
musical creation. They cannot be considered separately. A good composition
adds relish to the performance, and skilful performance sustains the
composition with elegance and deep impression.

2) PERFORMANCE MUST EXPRESS NATIONAL

SENTIMENTS AND MODERN AESTHETIC
FEELINGS PROPERLY

An important task of performance is to render musical pieces in accordance

with our national sentiments and tastes.
To do so, we must perform musical works in our own ways. Foreign way of
performance cannot produce the tastes of Korean music. Only our own style of
performance can sustain the real nature of Korean music through skilful
rendition.
Since we are working for the Korean revolution in our land, not for any
110 KIM JONG IL

foreign revolution, we must be good at the performance of Korean music, which

accords with the sentiments of our nation and reflects the reality of our country.
We must perform music in our own style so as to sustain the particular tastes and
fragrance of our music and cater to our people’s feelings.
We must perform foreign music, too, in our own style. In order to acquire
the knowledge of the trend of modern music and foreign music, and to study the
heritage of the classical music of the past, a common wealth of humanity, it is
also necessary to perform foreign music. The performance of foreign music is
also significant in developing exchanges with other nations in the field of music.
An important principle that must be adhered to in the performance of foreign
music is to render revolutionary and wholesome music to suit our people’s tastes.
Performing foreign music in our own style certainly does not mean altering even
the unique emotions of that music to suit our own emotions. A foreign musical
piece that is performed in our own style so as to reflect our people’s musical
tastes while preserving its original emotions can be appreciated favourably by
our people.
In order to develop vocal music in our own style, it is essential to meet our
demands in terms of vocalization and singing.
Voice and breathing are the basic factors in vocalization. Without solving
the problem of voice and breathing, it is impossible to sing a song properly. A
singer who has a good voice and breathes with composure can interpret music
successfully by giving free expression to its inherent musical feelings.
In vocal music, the problem of voice and breathing is resolved through
vocalization. Voice quality and breathing are related to a natural endowment.
However, even a singer with a very sweet voice and a rich resonance will be
unable to render a song skilfully unless he or she has acquired a mastery of
scientific vocalization.
Vocalization reflects national characteristics. In the past some people
attempted to copy foreign vocalization, insisting that it had nothing to do with
national characteristics because it was common throughout the world. They
were unscientific in that they regarded vocalization purely as a physiological
phenomenon.
Vocalization does not merely involve a technical question. It is an aesthetic
question relating to a nation’s musical sentiments before it is a technical matter
relating to man’s physiological conditions. People’s specific tastes of
 3. PERFORMANCE 111

appreciating music find expression in vocalization, and the emotions, thoughts

and feelings of music are felt differently depending on the manner of
vocalization.
Also in the light of physiological conditions, those of Koreans and
Westerners cannot be the same, so that the pronunciation of the Korean
language and its vocal structure, which are based on the Koreans’ physiological
apparatus, have their own characteristics. These characteristics affect their
vocalization.
Precisely for this reason, Italians find it difficult to sing Korean songs,
although they sing their own songs fluently. Italian vocalization is known
throughout the world. However, if you copy it, you will be unable to render
Korean music in such a way as to cater to the feelings of Koreans. Foreign
vocalization cannot solve the problems of our techniques of singing the varied
and delicate skills of Korean vocal music, nor can it sustain the unique tastes of
Korean folk songs. There are common principles of scientific vocalization, but
specific vocalization has national characteristics, so it is essential to sustain
these characteristics.
To all intents and purposes, we must adopt a vocalization that elegantly
produces clear, distinct, gentle, beautiful, firm and pleasing tones to accord with
our people’s feeling. Harsh, raucous, gloomy, mumbling, or piercing tones do
not accord with our people’s emotions. No one likes to hear a voice that jars on
the emotions.
Singers who performed chang (a genre of high-pitched folk songs–Tr.) in
the old days used to cultivate a rasping voice to such an extent that it was
difficult to identify whether the singer was a male or a female. Nevertheless,
some people who claimed to be national vocalists tried to revive the thick
rasping voice, asserting that it was our traditional vocalization. That was an
expression of the tendency to return to the past, because their so-called
traditional vocalization ran counter not only to the emotions of our people, who
like beautiful and gentle music, but also to the tastes of our contemporaries.
Establishing the Juche orientation in vocalization has nothing in common with
a hankering to return to the past.
Producing a beautiful voice is the requirement not only for expressing
national sentiments in music but also for truthfully representing the people’s
aesthetic feelings.
112 KIM JONG IL

Songs should be sung to accord with the people’s aesthetic ideals. To enjoy
beautiful music is an aesthetic ideal of the people. They like songs sung in
beautiful voices. In certain countries, some singers are now singing grotesquely
in hoarse, rasping and even choked voices, claiming that this is modern music.
This amounts to mocking the people’s aesthetic tastes. It is an expression of the
bourgeois aesthetic view that paralyzes people’s healthy thinking and yearns for
erotic music. Our music must not permit the expression of the slightest element
that runs counter to the people’s desires and aspirations, but adopt a vocalization
that produces beautiful voices to cater to the people’s aesthetic tastes.
To produce a beautiful voice, it is necessary to acquire the principles and
methods of scientific vocalization.
A voice that is emitted naturally sounds beautiful to the ear. Without solving
the problem of natural vocalization, a singer cannot produce a beautiful voice.
To sing naturally, voicing must be based on the principles of scientific
vocalization. A voice that is emitted when the vocal organs function naturally
and efficiently without any hindrance sounds authentic and natural. If the vocal
organs are restrained artificially, they cannot produce a beautiful voice.
A natural and beautiful voice can only be obtained on the basis of a correct
method of vocalization. Good resonance, correct and composed breathing, the
unity of high and low pitches, and correct pronunciation make the voice natural
and beautiful. Resonance, breathing, transition and pronunciation are the basic
methods of vocalization that singers must acquire.
Uttering a lot of nasal sounds is not the scientific method of resonance. A
song with a lot of nasal sounds is plaintive. Songs should ring out naturally and
fluently from the diaphragm.
A singer who has not mastered the technique of transition cannot unify high
and low pitches with the same sound volume and timbre, and ensure a natural
flow of music. Some singers fail to reach high pitches comfortably, and end up
shouting and shrieking, because they have not mastered the technique of
transition.
Acquiring the correct method of breathing is a prerequisite for comfortable
pronunciation and natural expression of musical feelings. A singer without a
correct method of breathing cannot render music naturally and satisfactorily,
because of shortness of breath.
Correct pronunciation is also an important aspect of vocalization. Incorrect
 3. PERFORMANCE 113

pronunciation hinders the accurate rendition of the texts of songs and the
expression of their ideas and feelings. Since the words of a song express its idea
tangibly, they should be conveyed clearly to the audience. A singer who is
incapable of conveying the words of a song cannot render realistic music.
Singers must learn how to pronounce accurately and sustain the nuances and
emotional timbres of the Korean language, in addition to learning how to
produce a beautiful voice.
The emotional timbre and taste of a song vary with the methods of singing
used. In order to render songs in accordance with our people’s emotions,
thoughts and feelings, it is essential to apply our own style of singing. A singer,
no matter how good at vocalization, cannot be a good singer unless he or she
knows how to sustain our own style of singing in rendition.
In the past, quite a few people had the mistaken view that our own style of
singing was applicable only to Korean vocal music and had nothing to do with
Western vocal music. That was because they were ignorant of the essence of
our own style of singing and had an incorrect view of Korean and Western
vocal music.
Our own style of singing is not defined by the standard of Korean or
Western vocal music. It is true that Korean vocal music and its Western
counterpart differ in their styles of singing. But the difference in their style of
singing is one thing, and our own style of singing is another. Whether it is
Korean or Western vocal music is not the point at issue in defining our own
style of singing. The point in question in defining our own style of singing is
whether or not the style of singing accords with our national sentiments and
modern aesthetic feelings. The style of singing that accords with our national
sentiments and modern aesthetic feelings can be our own style of singing even
though it is applied to Western vocal music.
Since the style of singing, too, reflects the requirements of the period, it
involves both traditional and innovative elements. The singing style of
phansori, which was rendered in a rasping voice in the past, cannot accord with
our national melodies. Even though it was a style of singing folk songs, it
cannot, in its old form, cater to our contemporary aesthetic tastes in the
rendition of vocal music. Even the style of singing folk songs, which has been
newly developed in our times, is applicable to the interpretation of folk songs
or songs in the style of folk songs, but not to the rendition of songs in general.
114 KIM JONG IL

Songs other than folk music can have their own flavour when they are
rendered in the style of singing Western vocal music. This does not mean,
however, that national sentiments can be ignored in the application of Western
vocalization. The style of singing songs other than folk music should make
these songs overflow with national sentiments while at the same time sustaining
the characteristics of Western vocal music. Only when these requirements are
met can the style of singing Western songs be said to be our own style of
singing.
There is no question about the fact that there is our own style of singing
Western songs. The term Western song was originally used to denote vocal
music that was introduced from the West. In the course of musical exchanges,
Western songs earned their place side by side with Korean songs in the art of
music in our country a long time ago. With the lapse of time, these Western
songs gradually took on a new form distinguishable from Western music, with
the reflection of our national characteristics and with the infiltration of the
characteristics of our national music into them, and have now been assimilated
to our music. That is why the Western vocal music we speak of should not be
identified with Western music in general. We use the terms Korean and Western
vocal music essentially to distinguish between the vocal music that is based on
folk songs and the vocal music that is based on modern songs, which have
different characteristics, although both of them belong to our music. Since this
Western vocal music is a genre of our music, it is bound to have our own style
of singing which differs from that used by Westerners in their music. The
concept of our own style of singing should be understood in a broader sense,
instead of being confined to only Korean or Western vocal music.
Our own style of singing should be applied in keeping with the
characteristics of Korean and Western vocal music.
Sustaining our own style of singing in Korean and Western vocal music
does not mean mixing up the two genres. The characteristics of Korean vocal
music should be sustained as such, as should those of Western vocal music. Our
Party has long emphasized that our folk songs and other songs should not be
mixed up with each other, and that Korean and Western vocal music should not
be jumbled together. Our own style of singing must make a clear demarcation
between Korean vocal music and Western vocal music, and yet render them as
a whole to accord with our people’s emotions, thoughts and feelings.
 3. PERFORMANCE 115

In our country now a new musical form, namely, the vocal-solo-chorus,

which combines Korean and Western music, has been created and has captured
the hearts of the people. We have experimented with this combination and
encouraged it as an important method of developing national music on modern
lines. One thing that must be guarded against in this regard is to make a medley
of them. For their proper combination, we must not jumble them up by ignoring
their characteristics, although we will have to refrain from regarding the
characteristics of each genre as absolute and rendering them incongruous.
Korean vocal music is clearly distinguished from Western vocal music for
its peculiar trill and vibrato. Following the main line of a notation and giving it
a smack of music sweetness by means of delicate trills with a variety of
microtones is a technique unique to Korean vocal music. In Korean vocal music
there are short ornamental trills rendered within a few notes, as well as long
melodic trills linking many notes.
The peculiar singing techniques of Korean vocal music are not limited to
trills and vibrato. One technique includes another within itself and they are so
varied and rich that it is even difficult to judge which one should be carried
through without overlooking it. A singer without the ability to sustain these
singing techniques cannot become a folk singer, nor can he or she render songs
excellently in keeping with the characteristics of Korean vocal music.
Western vocal music also has its own style of singing, so Western vocalists
must sustain such characteristics. No technique of Korean vocal music can take
the place of the singing techniques displayed by Western vocal music in
rendering songs powerfully and with great breadth.
One thing that must be taken into consideration when sustaining such
characteristics is the need to realize the aesthetic feelings of the period and our
national sentiments.
Songs must not be rendered in the style of the old days, in an attempt to
keep the singing style of Korean vocal music. Rendering folk songs with
excessive trills or with vibrato which is too thick does not accord with our
people’s emotions and modern aesthetic feelings. Vibrato which is too thick
may sound antique, and excessive use of trills treatment which is too complex
cannot sustain any part of a song, but end up making the song desultory.
When maintaining the singing style of Western vocal music, there should be
no simple copying of foreign styles.
116 KIM JONG IL

In the past, some singers thought wrongly that shouting and dragging out
songs in high pitches in a foreign style was the way to maintain the
characteristics of Western vocal music. Our people do not like such a practice;
they are fond of singing gently and comfortably in beautiful voices.
Concentrating on the characteristics of Western vocal music while ignoring our
national sentiments is an expression of dogmatism. Dogmatism and nostalgia
have nothing in common with our own style. We must not concentrate on the
characteristics of Korean and Western vocal music in contradiction to the
requirements of our own style of singing.
We must maintain the characteristics of Korean and Western instruments
with regard to the techniques of instrumental performance.
The technique of performance is the primary question that must be solved in
instrumental performance. A musical instrument has a performance technique
peculiar to it. The characteristics of a musical instrument find expression in its
performance technique, which has great influence on its timbre and volume.
The performance techniques of Korean instruments differ from those of
Western instruments. A violin and a sohaegum are stringed instruments, but the
techniques of their performance differ from each other. Flutes, oboes, jottae and
saenap are woodwind instruments, but their performance techniques are not the
same. The techniques of vibrato and microtones of these Korean woodwinds,
for instance, are unique to them and are beyond the capabilities of the Western
woodwinds.
Performers must skilfully stress the characteristics of their
instruments–whether Korean or Western–with regard to the techniques of their
performance.
The characteristic of kayagum is the tremolo. Korean instruments like tanso
and jottae sound good when they are performed with vibrato. At one time in the
past, some of kayagum players discarded tremolo in an attempt to modernize
their performance technique, so that it was hard to tell whether they were
playing a guitar or a harp. Using tremolo in the performance of Korean
instruments like kayagum is a special feat. Discarding it amounts to removing
the basic taste of Korean instruments. That is not our method of creating art.
Modernizing the techniques of performing Korean instruments is a good thing,
but the timbres of these instruments must not be weakened, nor should different
instruments be made to produce the same timbre.
 3. PERFORMANCE 117

The peculiar features like tremolo in the techniques of playing Korean

instruments must be preserved in the process of their modernization. Certainly,
there is no need to apply exaggerated tremolos in the performance of kayagum, as
was done in the old days. There should be no antique element deliberately
preserved and aimed allegedly at sustaining national timbres in the application of
the techniques of playing Korean instruments. Tremolos can stimulate national
sentiments and accord with modern aesthetic feelings only when they are used at
essential points, and every single tremolo is employed in an exact way.
Players of Korean instruments must effectively apply the particular techniques
of their performance, such as tremolos and microtones, so as to express our
people’s pre-eminent musical talents clearly in instrumental performance.
In the playing of Western instruments, too, the technique peculiar to them
must be applied. It is not advisable to play Western instruments in the way that
Korean instruments are played in an attempt to establish a Juche orientation in
them. If we were to play violins as we do haegum, ignoring the characteristics
of Western instruments, there would be no need to encourage the use of a violin
itself in our music. Since Western instruments have their own characteristics
and their own merits we must maintain them in performance. The point is to
make sure that the techniques of performance accord with the characteristics of
Western instruments and yet render our music with great skill and properly
reflect our people’s emotions.
There will be no problem so long as Western instruments render our music
in tune with the beat patterns of Korean music. Western instruments can
produce Korean tastes, if each of them is performed in such a manner as to give
full play to its unique techniques and accord with the beat patterns of Korean
music.
Tone colours must also be used to maintain Korean timbres. In playing
Western instruments, we must avoid their dull or sharp timbres and produce
sonorous and yet restrained and mellow sounds. Only then can their
performance accord with our people’s tastes and emotions.
Western instruments that can be used to produce Korean music skilfully by
maintaining the timbres that accord with the beat patterns of Korean music and
Korean sentiments will be welcome to our people.
Performers must render music skilfully in our own way, and interpret it to
express our people’s emotion, thoughts and feelings excellently.
118 KIM JONG IL

3) INDIVIDUALITY MUST BE STRESSED

IN PERFORMANCE

Musical interpretation should be fresh and idiomatic. Fresh and idiomatic

musical interpretation is the natural requirement of the Juche art of music. It is
an important condition for strengthening the informative and educational
function of musical works. Fresh and idiomatic musical interpretation can give
truthful and vivid expression to human thoughts, feelings and emotions, which
are varied and rich. It sounds attractive to the ear.
To create fresh and idiomatic musical interpretations, performance must
stress the emotional colouring of each musical work to suit its characteristics.
A musical work has its own characteristics. Human thoughts, feelings and
emotions to be reflected in music are immensely varied and rich. These
constitute the content of musical works and define their form. Since a
composer’s individuality affects his musical works, each of these works has its
characteristics in its thematic ideological content and form of expression.
The characteristics of a musical work find clear expression in its emotional
colouring. Only when the emotional colouring is correctly rendered can the
performer create an idiomatic musical interpretation that accords with the
character of the given musical work. A correct understanding of musical
emotions and the expression of musical thoughts and feelings are basic to
performance.
In order to sustain the emotional colouring of a musical work, the performer
must grasp its theme and ideological and emotional content in depth.
Only when he does this can he express the emotional colouring of the work
clearly, and make a characteristic and fresh musical interpretation.
What is basic to a musical work is its content. The emotional colour of a
musical work must always be subordinated to its content and made to express
the content better. An emotional colour that does not accord with the content
obscures the character of the musical work and destroys the accuracy of
interpretation.
 3. PERFORMANCE 119

A good knowledge of the historical event that occasioned the creation of a

musical work helps towards expressing the emotional colour of the musical
work in performance.
Musical pieces that are remembered by the people for a long time are
associated with the social surroundings and the events of the historical periods
in which they were created. The song Victorious May overflows with the
emotions of the working masses who marched in fine array through the square
on the significant festival when the Korean working class was greeting for the
first time since their liberation, expressing their warmest gratitude to the great
leader, and enthusiastically hailing him, who had founded the first state of the
workers and peasants of Korea and brought true happiness to the
once-downtrodden working people. If this song is rendered with a good
knowledge of the social surroundings and historical events that gave birth to it,
the character of the musical work will be given clear emotional expression and
its musical interpretation will be impressive.
Performers must also delicately give full play to the specific expressive
features of melodies.
Melodies are the basic means of expressing the ideological and emotional
content of a musical work, so the primary task of performance is to render its
melodies with great skill.
All melodies have different features in their tone and rhythm, tonality and
chords, timing and tempo. The mode of developing melodies and the melodic
flow, too, vary with musical works. If they are to interpret musical works
idiomatically in accordance with their character, performers must give full play
to the specific expressive features of melodies.
The Song of General Mobilization and the Song of Women’s Emancipation
are revolutionary songs, but they are different in their form of melodic
expression. To render these songs in accordance with their character, the Song
of General Mobilization should be performed at a fast tempo, and the Song of
Women’s Emancipation at a moderate tempo and with composure. Only then
can the enterprising and militant flavour of the former and the simple and
inmost emotions of the latter be truly felt. If songs of different character are
rendered in the same way in disregard of the expressive characteristics of their
melodies, their musical mood may be distorted.
To interpret musical works in a fresh and idiomatic way, these works must
120 KIM JONG IL

be performed so as to express the characteristics of their genres and the forms

of their performance.
A musical work has the characteristics of its genre and relies on a definite
form of performance. Lyrical songs and marches have different characteristics,
and the characteristics of a vocal solo, a small vocal ensemble and pangchang
differ from one another. Musical works must be rendered in accordance with
the characteristics of their genres and the forms of their performance.
There are songs that require the skills of virtuosos, as well as those which
should be rendered in a simple way so that the masses can follow their singing
with ease. The song This Is Socialist Paradise requires a high level of skill of
the singer if it is to render its unique flavour, whereas the Song of Ploughing
sounds best to the ear when it is rendered in a simple and familiar manner.
The skills of vocal or instrumental solo performance and ensemble
performance must differ from each other.
In the performance of a vocal or instrumental solo, individual performers’
skills should be emphasized. Success in solo performance depends on how
soloists, vocal or instrumental, perform the basic melodies of their musical
pieces.
Skilful accompaniment to the performance of soloists is important.
However, if the soloists fail to perform properly, their music will sound flat, no
matter how good the accompaniment may be.
In the performance of solos the soloists must display their skills to the
fullest, and accompaniment should be subordinated to backing their
performance. A solo singer must not be made to follow the accompaniment in
an attempt to back the accompaniment. In the interpretation of songs,
accompaniment must follow the singers, instead of the singers following the
accompaniment. Only then can solo singers display their skills fully and render
music excellently without being restrained by the accompaniment.
In ensemble interpretation, performers must subordinate their individual
skills to the overall ensemble. In the interpretation of ensemble music, the skill
of any one voice part must not be regarded as absolute.
The charm of the interpretation of an ensemble piece lies in the beauty of
artistic harmony.
Ensembles consist of technical ensembles and stage ensembles. Music in
the form of ensemble can realize a complete unity of artistic harmony only
 3. PERFORMANCE 121

when it ensures both the technical ensemble of the performance which is felt by
the sense of hearing and the stage ensemble, which appeals to the eyes.
The technical ensemble ensures the unity of sounds and the harmony of
musical resonance, and as such it is basic to interpretation by instrumental
ensembles. Musical resonance sounds harmonious when tone colours and
volumes are artistically unified. Tone colours and volumes are the major means
of expressing musical emotions, and their harmony and unity is realized by
technical ensembles.
The importance of the technical ensemble must not overshadow the stage
ensemble. The stage ensemble ensures the unity of facial looks and movements,
and as such its good harmony is very important in stage performance. Singers
should open their mouths in a concerted way. If one person or two open their
mouths a little when all the others open them wide, they not only look ugly but
interfere with the resonance.
In orchestral performance, the manner of using bows should be concerted. If
some performers pull their bows and some others push them when performing
the same melody or rhythm, the stage will look desultory, and musical emotions
will not be sustained because of the disunity of sounds.
The technical and stage ensembles are inseparably related in musical
interpretation. Only when musical resonance is well harmonized in
performance as a result of a complete solution to the technical problems of
performance can facial looks and movements be concerted with ease; and when
everything on the stage moves as one, through the unity of facial looks and
movements, can musical resonance be felt to be harmonious. Without resolving
the problem of the technical ensemble, there will be no harmony of the stage
ensemble, and vice versa.
The musical ensemble, which requires auditory and visual harmony and
unity of musical interpretation, needs only the performance techniques that
contribute to the overall ensemble and rejects individual performance
techniques that impair the overall ensemble. In musical ensembles the skills of
individual performers must be subordinated to the overall ensemble, and their
artistic fancy and skills must be unified as a single musical interpretation.
In order to ensure a high level of ensemble rendition in musical
interpretation, the techniques of performance must be unified according to a
single standard. Unless these techniques are unified, harmonious resonance
122 KIM JONG IL

cannot be expected nor can the facial looks and movements be concerted with
ease. Unified techniques of performance can ensure the unity of tone colours
and clarify the character of the given musical piece.
In a vocal ensemble, vocalism and the manner of singing should be unified.
If these are not unified, the harmony of tone colours will be damaged;
moreover it will be difficult to sing in keeping with the requirements for
interpreting the musical work. The same manner of vocalization and the same
manner of breathing and trilling are the prerequisite for vocal interpretation that
is harmonious and refined in terms of ensemble rendition.
In an instrumental ensemble, the techniques of playing instruments must be
unified. The unity of these techniques can ensure a high level of interpretation
by an instrumental ensemble. Their disunity will result in incongruous
resonance and cloudy tone colours.
The unity of performance techniques is also essential for giving expression
to the characteristics of each instrument. An instrumental ensemble is by no
means aimed at obtaining mixed resonance of instruments by precluding the
characteristics of different instruments; it presupposes the expression of their
characteristics.
The techniques of performance reflect the characteristics of instruments.
The unity of performance techniques in an instrumental ensemble is needed to
express the characteristics of the instruments, harmonize the resonance of
different instruments and thus increase the effect of the ensemble.
The unity of idea and purpose of the performers is a major requirement for
ensuring a high level of ensemble performance in musical interpretation.
Ensemble interpretation is not a simple technical matter. The refined
harmony of a musical ensemble is achieved by the unity of idea and purpose of
the performers, in addition to their polished skills. Only when the performers
are united in idea and purpose can they subordinate their creative individuality
and artistic talents to the overall ensemble performance to meet the joint
purpose of creating a single musical interpretation.
Clearly expressing the individuality of each performer in rendition is a
major task in the creation of a fresh and idiomatic musical interpretation.
All performers have individuality. Since all people are individualistic
beings, performers have different musical tastes and inclinations, and the
manner of their dealing with means and techniques of expression is varied.
 3. PERFORMANCE 123

When performers’ individuality is clearly achieved, musical interpretation

becomes idiomatic and fresh. Even a new musical work cannot prove its worth
unless it is combined with the individuality of its performer.
For a performer to express his individuality in musical interpretation, he
must select musical pieces properly.
Proper selection of musical pieces is the prerequisite for good performance.
Only when he or she has selected suitable pieces can the performer express his
or her individuality and fully display his or her skills to create a fresh and
idiomatic musical interpretation.
The performer must select musical pieces that are suited to his or her
physical conditions and accord with the characteristics of his or her
performance techniques.
I have observed that some performers are good at playing fast and lively
music, while some performers are good at playing slow and meditative music.
These are the expressions of their psychological characters, their physical
conditions and the characteristics of their performance techniques.
Inborn physical conditions differ from performer to performer. The vocal
chords of singers, the hands of string instrumentalists, and the lips and tongues
of woodwind instrumentalists are not the same.
The characteristics of performance techniques are not identical. The
characteristics of performance techniques of vocal soloists and those of opera
singers differ from each other, and the characteristics of the performance
techniques of Korean vocalists and those of Western vocalists are also different
from each other.
Because the physical conditions and the characteristics of performance
techniques vary with the performers, it is impossible for them to perform music
well if musical pieces are selected in disregard of these conditions and
characteristics.
A singer, for instance, must select his or her musical pieces taking vocal
chords and breathing circumstances into consideration.
If a performer is to sustain his or her individuality in musical interpretation,
the method of interpretation must be applied in an idiomatic way.
There can be no stereotypes or established patterns in the method of musical
interpretation. Since both life and the character of works are varied, there is no
need to set musical interpretation to a stereotype or a pattern.
124 KIM JONG IL

Stereotypes and patterns are taboo in musical interpretation. They result in

repetition and similarity, which mean the death of art.
A general principle governs the methods of musical interpretation according
to the genre and form of music. The method of interpreting orchestral music
which is wide-ranging and vivacious differs from that of an instrumental
concert, which should be pretty and succinct. The method of interpreting the
solo of an opera that should be sung with dramatic feelings also differs from
that of pangchang that should be sung in a light and bright voice. This is a
general characteristic of the methods of interpretation, not a specific
prescription required for the interpretation of each work. The methods of
musical interpretation must accord with the general characteristics of musical
genres and forms, and must be applied idiomatically without repetition by
sustaining the specific features of each work and the performer’s individuality.
A performer must know how to use a fresh technique of interpretation and
even an old technique in a fresh way. Too frequent use of a technique, however
good, lowers the quality of interpretation; a performer who imitates others
cannot show his or her own individuality.
The creative individuality of performers should not be immutable.
The creative individuality of artists should be steadily developed and
enriched in a fresh way to meet the requirements for the revolutionary age and
the development of art and literature. Something that was new yesterday cannot
remain new today. For the same reason, stagnant individuality cannot continue
to create fresh interpretations. Creative individuality that fails to display
originality is not a truly creative individuality; individuality that fails to develop
continuously cannot sustain its worth for long. Performers must continue to
develop, enrich and perfect their creative individuality in many aspects. If they
regard their creative individuality as immutable, they will be restricted by the
patterns of their own making and end up losing their creativity.
The individuality of performers is neither inviolable nor absolute.
Denying the individuality of artists amounts to denying artistic creation
itself. There is no need, however, to kowtow to artists’ individuality.
Expressing individuality is one thing, and libertarianism is another. The
former in no way means encouraging personal tastes or permitting “freedom”
of artistic creation.
All our work of artistic creation must be carried out under the leadership of
 3. PERFORMANCE 125

the Party, and all our artists must work in line with the Party’s policies and
requirements. Performers must not insist only on their individuality in musical
interpretation and regard it as absolute; they must refrain from revealing the
slightest element of libertarianism by viewing their individuality in the light of
the Party’s policies and requirements.
The value of the life of performance does not lie in how many works a
performer has rendered, but in how many fresh and idiomatic musical
interpretations he or she has created. Performers must brighten their
performances by creating musical interpretations that clearly express the
characteristics of works and their individuality.

4) MUSIC MUST BE PERFORMED WITH ARDOUR

Performances must capture people’s hearts and leave a deep impression on

the audience.
Music must be performed with ardour. A musical piece so performed can
touch people’s hearts.
People appreciate music and grasp the world of music, with feelings and
emotions. The world of music is the world of human thoughts, feelings and
emotions reflected in musical works.
A musical piece can be a profound interpretation and touch people’s
heartstrings when it conveys strong feelings and rich emotions. A musical piece
that is devoid of feelings and only contains dull emotions is not music. It cannot
stimulate people’s interest.
A musical piece that is performed with ardour can pour out rich and strong
feelings and emotions.
Ardour is a tangible feeling that finds expression in surging emotions.
Enthusiastic performance emotionally heightens the thoughts and feelings
contained in musical pieces, deepens them and excites the audience, attracting
them into the musical world in spite of themselves. Lukewarm and flat
performances without any ardour cannot sustain feelings and emotions, nor can
they interpret music impressively to capture people’s hearts.
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Music must be performed with intense ardour in order to make it throb with
the living breath of our revolutionary age.
Music must pulse with the spirit of the age. Today’s reality, in which the
independent and creative lives of the working masses are in full bloom, is full
of revolutionary stamina, romanticism and intense ardour. Our music must deal
with these emotions truthfully and express them clearly. Only then can the
audience feel the breath of our age and share the profound thoughts and
feelings that are reflected on the given musical works. Without intense ardour,
which fills musical interpretation with punch and vigour, it is impossible to
describe impressively the revolutionary stamina and romanticism with which
our lives overflow.
A performer’s enthusiasm for his rendition must find expression in truthful
feelings.
Musical interpretation must always be truthful. Only truthful musical
interpretation can touch people’s hearts and lead the audience to a world of
irresistible excitement.
For a truthful musical interpretation, the performer must not be carried away
by his own feelings. Enthusiastic performance does not mean being carried
away by enthusiasm. Enthusiastic performance is one thing, and being carried
away by enthusiasm is quite another.
A display of a performer’s feelings damages the authenticity of
interpretation. If he or she is overcome by his or her own emotions in musical
performance, he or she will be unable to maintain the right tempo and steady
intervals, nor will he or she be able to interpret the music properly. If this
happens, even an emotional and attractive song will make a bad impression on
the audience and fail to stimulate their interest.
If a performer is overcome by his or her own feelings, he or she will fall
into subjectivism and into what is called a new school (an artificial and
exaggerated style of performance–Tr.). The audience should be attracted
naturally by authentic interpretation and become excited in spite of themselves
by empathizing with the music; they will not be excited simply because the
performer is overcome by his or her own feelings and displays them. If the
performer alone becomes excited and displays his or her feelings while the
audience remains unmoved, this is a “new school” of musical interpretation. No
subjectivism or “new school” should be permitted in musical rendition.
 3. PERFORMANCE 127

Feelings in musical interpretation must accord with the natural flow of

true-to-life feelings.
Feelings must emanate from the heart. Feelings that do not emanate from
the heart are neither authentic nor can they stimulate people to excitement.
Feelings are stirred up by the action of human psychology; but they do not
remain as mere psychological phenomena. Human feelings always find
outward expression. The stronger their innermost buildup is, the clearer their
outward expression is. These feelings are directly and delicately expressed in
people’s looks and behaviour. We can read a man’s mind from a single facial
look and a single action, and perceive his mentality because his feelings are
transmitted to his facial looks and to his behaviour.
The performer’s ardour in musical rendition must find authentic expression
in accordance with the natural flow of lifelike feelings.
The sonority of performance must ring out from the heart, not merely from
the vocal chord or from the fingertips.
Musical emotions are clearly expressed in musical resonance. If musical
resonance lacks emotions and fails to sound enthusiastic, there will be no way
to express the performer’s ardour. Nobody will feel the performer’s ardour and
impressive musical interpretation from emotionally placid and void resonance.
In order to create an impressive musical interpretation by means of musical
resonance with gushing enthusiasm, the performer must accept the beauty of
life and the profound ideological and emotional content of the given musical
work from the bottom of his or her heart. But if heartfelt emotions are
expressed through natural musical resonance, the performer can fill the music
with ardour without raising his or her voice to a high pitch.
The performer must be able to express musical feelings with facial looks
and through movements. The facial looks and bodily movements that express
the performer’s feelings can facilitate the transmission of the ideological and
emotional content of music and interpretative intentions. Music that is
performed with an expressionless, stiff posture sounds drab and insipid, and
fails to give an authentic interpretation.
The performer should freely express musical feelings with his or her facial
looks and movements to keep the music abreast of the audience. The audience
not only listens to the sounds of music performed on the stage, but also sees the
facial looks and bodily movements of the performer. That is why the
128 KIM JONG IL

interpretation must be focused on both the eyes and ears of audience.

The performer must guard against making quirky facial looks or too shaky
bodily movements in an attempt to express his or her feelings. Excessive
emphasis of these outward features may end up making the musical
interpretation artificial. Artificially concocted feelings are not only unnatural
and awkward, but also lower the quality of interpretation. It may be said that
musical feelings have been expressed in an artistically authentic way when the
performer on the stage looks as if he or she were moving although he or she is
not moving, and when he or she looks motionless when actually in motion.
To express musical feelings in an artistically authentic manner, every facial
look and movement must be a natural expression of human psychology. When
the innermost feelings that swell in the heart appear as they are in the facial
looks and bodily movements and the performer feels an irresistible ardour
welling up, the musical interpretation becomes authentic and impressive.
The performer must control his or her feelings skilfully during a
performance.
Musical interpretation should be given variety. A musical work must not be
rendered only in a pretty manner in an attempt to express simple feelings, nor
must it be rendered with all the performer’s strength from beginning to end for
the sake of maintaining enthusiasm. Even a short song should be rendered in a
pretty manner where pretty singing is necessary, should be sung with force
where forceful singing is needed, and should be given a wide breadth where a
wide breadth is essential. Music with variety sounds good to the ear and makes
a deep impression on the audience by pulling at their heartstrings and releasing
them in alternation.
Needless to say, the emotional timbre of a musical work must not be
mottled for the sake of variety. The main stream of emotions in a musical piece
must be consistent, and the changing colours of emotions should be derived
from the leading emotions. Only then can the main emotional timbre be
sustained so that the musical interpretation leaves a deep impression in the
emotional shade and light that alternate in a variety.
In order to add variety to music, the performer must control his or her
emotions in rendition with great skill.
The artist who is able to control his or her rich emotions and excitement is a
genuine artist. The performer who does not know how to express his or her
 3. PERFORMANCE 129

feelings with freedom cannot create an excellent musical interpretation.

Performers must be able to adjust their feelings to the logic of life.
Since life is the source of feelings, the flow of feelings cannot be natural if
these feelings contradict the logic of life. Tensions are followed by releases, and
buildup leads to a climax. This is the flow of feelings that accords with the
logic of life. Performers must control musical emotions smoothly and yet in a
variety in accordance with the lifelike flow of emotions.
The skilful start of a performance is important.
The performer must interpret his or her musical piece with fully sustained
feelings from the start. A good beginning with rich feelings can capture the
hearts of the audience at the start. If the start fails to make a good impression
and to sustain feelings, the audience will not expect an excellent musical
interpretation, nor will they be drawn into the musical world.
Interpretation should not be started with a high pitch of voice in an attempt
to whip up emotions. That is not our style of interpretation. Generally speaking,
it is the flow of musical feelings that starts with a low pitch and then gradually
rises to the climax that can be called natural.
At the beginning of musical interpretation, feelings may be expressed in
different ways, depending on the nature of the works. Some musical pieces may
start quietly with composure, and others may begin forcefully with strong
emotions. However, even in the latter case, emotions should not be expressed in
a high-pitched voice.
Strong emotions are not derived from high-pitched tones. Smooth and
natural performance is perfectly able to express rich and surging emotions.
When moderate resonance overflows with deep emotions and gives the feelings
of emotional richness, the musical interpretation may sound impressive right
from the start.
Performers must build up emotions with composure in step with the flow of
the music and deepen and enrich it emotionally.
If feelings stay where they have started, instead of building up, with
the progress of time, such a musical interpretation will fail to make a deep
impression and will sound drab. By contrast, feelings that suddenly
change without any buildup or undergo alteration too frequently will
hamper the achievement of authenticity, yield only crudeness and end up
in dissipation. A skilful combination of the continuation of feelings and
130 KIM JONG IL

their alteration is important in performance.

Performers must choose where their performance can produce the greatest
artistic effect and bring built-up emotions to a head most effectively.
No part of musical interpretation can be ignored. Nevertheless, it is
impossible to deliver all the parts exactly to the same degree, because to
attempt to do so would result in failure to achieve a good effect.
Musical interpretation must set a target that is the most realistic from the point
of view of artistic effect. Performers must know how to regulate their emotions to
achieve success in hitting the few targets they have set for themselves. Only when
hasty excitement is restrained and built-up emotions come smoothly to a head
where the greatest artistic effect is aimed at can the musical interpretation sound
impressive in the context of distinct emotional contrast.
Emotional alteration in musical performance depends largely on the changes
in tempo, timbre and volume.
In musical rendition, the tempo should be speeded up or slowed down
where necessary to suit the emotions while keeping time. The breadth of
interpretation broadens beyond compare when the performer slows down the
tempo and emotionally emphasizes the details of his or her artistic intentions
with ample composure. However, he or she cannot slow down the tempo of
performance without limit for the sake of greater breadth. If the tempo is
slowed down too much, musical breathing will fade away and emotions will
fall flat. The tempo that has been slowed down in the course of musical
interpretation should be immediately restored to its original state.
Changes in tone colour and volume in musical interpretation should be
varied.
The tempo is a major element for expressing changes of feelings, but it
alone is not enough to alter emotions delicately and in a varied manner.
Although it is generally said that a slow tempo increases the breadth of
interpretation and that a fast tempo narrows the breadth, lack of change in tone
colour and volume may result in an opposite effect.
Only when he or she organically combines the changes in tempo, tone
colour and volume can the performer express the emotional change freely and
smoothly and raise the effect of the performance to the maximum.
Musical feelings in performance must be given artistic expression with the
help of refined skills.
 3. PERFORMANCE 131

Ardour is the expression of emotions, but music is not automatically filled

with these emotions to overflowing. Even strong emotions that are not
supported by artistic skills cannot make musical interpretation ardent.
Performers must use refined skills in their musical rendition.
By artistic skills I mean an apt and efficient use of means and techniques of
expression. Emotions can be appreciated as truthful and crystallized naturally
into intense ardour to touch people’s hearts only when they are interpreted with
artistic skills. Emotion on its own cannot represent interpretation. Emotions that
are expressed nakedly without being refined with the help of skills cannot make
the artist’s ardour appreciable.
The performer’s skills must be musically refined.
Skills that are derived from throats and fingertips are not truly artistic skills.
The performer’s skills should be fused into an integral concept of musical
interpretation; they should be welded into the natural flow of music, lest their
use be noticed by the audience. Musically refined skills alone can stir up
lifelike, authentic feelings, and only from such skills can the audience feel the
sincerity of the performer.
Performers should refrain from putting on airs or showing off petty tricks in
their attempt to interpret music artistically.
In the past, some vocalists frequently used the method of slowing down the
tempo and raising tonal pitches if they were advised to render songs in an
artistic manner. This was motivated by their desire to show off their petty
accomplishments and skills rather than by a desire to render music impressively
and with authentic feelings. Trying to stir up feelings by dragging out songs and
to show off one’s skills by raising the pitch of the voice is an outmoded method.
Performers’ skills must by no means be skills for the sake of skills.
Musical performance must sound comfortable and natural.
A performance that sounds comfortable and natural and yet conveys
feelings with tangible skills may be called an excellent performance.
Fundamentally speaking, a comfortable performance itself is a skill. Rendering
music comfortably and naturally and yet inducing the audience to appreciate a
profound musical interpretation with rapture and to be fascinated by subtle and
refined techniques is a genuine skill.
To perform a musical piece with ardour, the performer must enter deep into
the world of music.
132 KIM JONG IL

When he or she is seized with a strong impulse to sing out about life
wholeheartedly, creative enthusiasm wells up perceptibly. Such an impulse
emanates from the affirmation of the feelings of life. Without such sharing of
feelings, the performer’s heart will not move. If the heart does not move,
enthusiasm will not emerge. If the performer’s heart is to warm up with sympathy
with life and burn with ardour, he or she must enter deep into the world of music.
Only then, immersed in the rich emotions overflowing there, can he or she accept
the life of the musical work as his or her own and render it impressively.
Performers need artistic imagination.
Artistic imagination furnishes the musical work with the wings of
interpretation and serves as the source of creative ardour. Only when they have
artistic imagination can performers vividly reflect people’s lives and emotions
in musical works and pour their ardour into the deepening of their musical
interpretation. If they lack artistic imagination, they will be unable to give
profound expression to the lifelike emotional content of music, and will end up
substituting unfeeling, breathless resonance for musical interpretation.
The artistic imagination of performers should be deepened to widen
emotionally the breadth of feelings and enrich music with fresh interpretation
while staying faithful to the musical feelings that are reflected in the work.
There should be no practice of making abstract interpretation or falling back
on subjective tastes in an attempt to form fresh and bold concepts, which are
meaningless and are of no help to interpretation if they are divorced from the
life of the work. Performers’ concepts should be truthful and typical ones that
are based on life and should contribute to making the ideological and emotional
content of musical works more impressive.
Performers must have a good command of notation.
Only when they have mastered notation can they perform with freedom and
display all their ardour to create excellent musical interpretations.
Mastering notation means not only learning it by heart, but also digesting
and assimilating the ideological and emotional content of the notation and the
flow of feelings to accord with the composers’ intentions.
When they have mastered notation, the performers can have confidence that
they can render music excellently without making the slightest mistake in their
performance and can pour all their enthusiasm into sustaining the musical
feelings and creating excellent interpretations. Mastery of notation makes it
 3. PERFORMANCE 133

possible to perform music without a hitch, improve resonance and raise the
cultural level of performances. By contrast, if they perform without mastering
the particular notation, their minds will be distracted by the need to read it, and
they will be unable to express rich feelings and perform with all their ardour.
Bearing in mind that without ardour it is impossible to create impressive
musical interpretations, performers must approach every single aspect of life
with ardour and render every single piece of music with great enthusiasm.

5) PERFORMERS MUST BE VIRTUOSOS

OF CREATIVE WORK

The public appraisal of a musical work depends largely on how the

composer has composed it and how the performer has rendered it on the stage.
World-famous masterpieces are long remembered in history, together with the
names of both their composers and their performers.
Performers independently create musical interpretations. They must select
the musical works they have to render, and solve all the other problems arising
in their interpretation independently, by their own efforts.
A performer who interprets a musical work may be assisted by the
composer, conductor or other people. But their assistance must not restrain his
or her independence, but serve to enhance his or her creative role. The
performer must find solutions to the problems of interpretation, no matter how
difficult, independently and by his or her own efforts. The performer must be a
virtuoso capable of excellently interpreting musical works.
To be a virtuoso of creative work, a performer must acquire the aesthetic
view of Juche.
Acquiring a correct aesthetic view always presents itself as the first and
foremost task of artistic creation. A correct aesthetic view is the prerequisite for
appreciating and judging the beauty of life on the basis of scientific
understanding of the aesthetic relationship between reality and art and for
creating beautiful artistic images in accordance with man’s aesthetic ideals. An
artist who has not acquired a correct aesthetic view cannot carry out the work
134 KIM JONG IL

of artistic creation forcefully with a clear objective and firm confidence in this
work, and has to experience turns and twists in the course of creative work.
Some creative workers or artists leave blemishes on their creative careers
against their subjective desires by creating works of ideologically and
artistically low qualities and of obscure emotions mainly because they have not
acquired a correct aesthetic view.
If they are to interpret musical works excellently to meet the requirements
of the period and the people’s aspirations, performers must acquire the aesthetic
view of Juche. Only performers who have acquired the Juche-oriented aesthetic
view can interpret musical works excellently in accordance with the aesthetic
ideals of independent people and make an active contribution to giving people
ideological and emotional education.
The Juche-oriented aesthetic view is an absolutely scientific and original
aesthetic idea that has clarified the aesthetic relationship between reality and
humanity, between reality and art, on the basis of the man-centred philosophical
principles of the Juche idea. The Juche-oriented, man-centred aesthetic view
not only makes it possible to have a correct understanding of the aesthetic
objects that objectively exist in reality, but also scientifically clarifies the
characteristics of art and literature, as well as the laws that govern them. Only
when they make a correct assessment of life from the point of view of the
principles of Juche-oriented aesthetics and solve all the problems of
interpretation on the basis of the Juche-oriented aesthetic view can performers
unfold the emotional world of music in accordance with man's aesthetic ideals.
To acquire the Juche-oriented aesthetic view, we must study hard the Juche
idea and the idea of Juche-oriented art and literature, the application of the
Juche idea.
The Juche idea is the philosophical basis of the theory of Juche-oriented
aesthetics. The revolutionary and scientific character of the theory of
Juche-oriented aesthetics is firmly guaranteed by the Juche idea, which clarifies
the relationship between man and the world by centring on man.
The idea of Juche-oriented art and literature is an absolutely correct
guideline for the development of socialist, communist music. It clearly
indicates the general direction of developing the socialist, communist art of
music and fully elucidates the basic principles and specific methods of creating
the works of musical art.
 3. PERFORMANCE 135

Performers must make a deep study of the Juche idea and the idea of
Juche-oriented art and literature, the embodiment of the Juche idea, and rely on
them as the guideline for their creative activity. Only then can they excellently
translate the noble aesthetic aspirations of independent people into their
musical interpretations.
The question of acquiring the Juche-oriented aesthetic view is closely
related to the question of delving deep into the character and lives of Juche-type
people.
The objects to which our art and literature must give prominence are not
humanity and human life in general but the Juche-type people and their lives.
Juche-type people are typical of true people who have the most beautiful
human traits and the noblest aspirations in life. To present a profound emotional
interpretation of the beautiful spiritual world of the Juche-type people that is
reflected in musical works, the performer must have a good knowledge of their
characters and lives.
Making a deep study of the ideological and aesthetic features of
masterpieces that capture people’s hearts is also a major guarantee for acquiring
the Juche-oriented aesthetic view and making impressive and beautiful musical
interpretations.
A tangible phenomenon gives a good understanding of it, and knowledge
that is verified in practice is living knowledge. Likewise, the question of
acquiring the Juche-oriented aesthetic view of music can only be solved easily,
when the ideological and aesthetic characteristics of masterpieces are deeply
studied and concretely analyzed, and only then can musical interpretation be
made really effective.
To be a virtuoso of creative work, a performer must have a high level of
artistic skills.
Proving themselves technically worthy of the political confidence the Party
places in them is the duty of creative workers and artists. Only when they have
high artistic skills can performers create excellent musical interpretations and
loyally prove themselves worthy of the Party’s confidence and expectations.
Performers must be prepared to interpret musical works excellently at all
times in whatever conditions and circumstances, and maintain the standard of
interpretation set by the Party. Complaining about conditions and similar things
is an expression of caprice and a remnant of the outmoded way of performance.
136 KIM JONG IL

A performer with high artistic skills never relies on chance factors in

performance, nor is he or she restrained by objective situations. As a result,
success in performance is guaranteed.
Performers must continue to raise the level of their artistic skills also in
order to keep the level of our arts abreast of the developing modern trend.
We must always aspire after new musical trends and take the lead in them.
Even classical music should be performed with a good knowledge of modern
trends.
In the worldwide musical trend, the musical form of small pieces, side by
side with large pieces, is now being given prominence. The smaller the musical
pieces are, the higher the artistic skills required on the part of individual
performers. Only performers with high artistic skills can find satisfactory
solutions to the problems of the complex and delicate skills required for the
interpretation of small ensemble pieces, and make skilful use of the means and
techniques of expression newly developed in the field of modern music.
An important task in improving artistic skills is to build up the basis of
performance.
Without a solid foundation it is impossible to develop any kind of art. Only
when he or she has a firm foundation can a performer meet the new and varied
requirements for the interpretation of musical works and find a successful
solution to the difficult and complex problems of techniques.
A performer needs a peculiar timbre of his or her voice or instrument.
Since performance is the art of interpreting musical works by means of
sounds, good tone colours are basic to this art. Only beautiful and unique tone
colours can produce deeply emotional interpretation. Sounds without tone
colours and characteristics cannot make an impressive musical interpretation,
no matter what kinds of skills the performer may employ. The tone colours of
music should be so characteristic that the listener can identify the singer or the
instrumentalist.
The sounds of musical performance should be musically treated and
artistically refined.
When I say that performers must have their own idiomatic tone colours, I do
not mean the natural, raw sounds from their vocal chords or from their
instruments. Performers’ tone colours are inconceivable apart from the peculiar
timbres of their voices or of their instruments, but the sustaining of the general
 3. PERFORMANCE 137

characteristics of their natural voices or their instruments alone is not enough to

create deep and fresh musical interpretations. The music of raw sounds cannot
stir up deep emotions, nor can it make the interpretation lustrous. Timbres that
have been musically treated and artistically refined, though based on the
general resonance of natural voices or instruments, can be effective means of
creating lustrous musical interpretations.
Sounds must not be treated so as to give an artificial impression. Artificially
treated sounds are worse than raw sounds. Only the sounds that are naturally
resonant without making an impression of having been treated, even though
they have been so treated, can truly express rich musical emotions.
Performers must have an accurate sense of tempo and tones.
Adopting and maintaining accurate tempo and intervals is important in
musical performance. Adoption of inaccurate tempo or its fluctuation alters the
character of music and damages the feelings it arouses. Performers must be able
to maintain the tempo set by their musical works accurately and consistently,
regardless of changes in mood.
Scientific methods of breathing and pronunciation are also important
techniques of rendition that performers must acquire.
Finding a satisfactory solution to the technical problems of performance as
required by the modern trend of music is also important in raising the level of
artistic skills.
A performer must be able to sing while playing an instrument. Only then
can a relatively small number of personnel produce great effects in musical
interpretation and achieve a high level of artistic harmony of singing and
accompaniment. Singing while playing an instrument is the appropriate form of
performance for interpreting true-to-life and militant mass music. If singers are
unable to handle instruments or if instrumentalists cannot sing, it will be
impossible to raise the level of our art of performance to the level required by
our age.
It may be said that the piano is the basis of music. The piano is an
instrument capable of realizing the intentions of musical interpretation in a
comprehensive way. So the ability to play the piano is essential for gaining a
good knowledge of music.
Performers must get to know how to use microphones. In view of the
widespread use of microphones on theatrical stages, performers must pay close
138 KIM JONG IL

attention to their effective use. If they use them properly, they can add timbres
and sweetness to their tonal interpretation, though performing at low pitches.
Performers must be good at rhythmic movement. Only then will they be
able to move their bodies in a natural way and produce better sounds in a
comfortable way, and at the same time make a good impression on the
audience.
Performers’ artistic skills should be combined with rich experience on the
stage.
Performers without stage experience, though highly skilful, cannot render
music excellently. Without stage experience, they will find themselves confused
and tense on the stage and be unable to display their skills in performance to the
fullest. Only when they are rich in stage experience can they be bold and
expansive on the stage and display their refined skills to the fullest regardless of
places and situations.
Performers must render a lot of musical works with a variety of characters
and forms so as to build up rich stage experience. Only then can they verify and
consolidate their skills in practice while applying various techniques and skills,
and discover the knack of excellent musical interpretation.
Performers’ artistic skills must be supported by a wide range of musical
knowledge.
Only performers who have high artistic skills and a wide range of musical
knowledge can be creative virtuosos capable of interpreting music of whatever
kind without a hitch. The musical works that have been interpreted by
performers who have rich musical attainments and are well versed in the art of
music are always idiomatic, profound and impressive.
Performers should be versed in masterpieces.
Those who are not versed in masterpieces cannot be called true musicians.
Only when they are versed in a wide range of masterpieces and able to render
them at any time can they be called well-qualified performers and win the
acclamation of the audience from any stage.
A good knowledge of many masterpieces is a major asset for performers.
Performers should master the famous musical pieces of Korea and the rest of
the world and make them valuable assets for their careers.
Performers must also develop their ability to analyze musical works.
Analysis of musical works is the starting point of understanding these
 3. PERFORMANCE 139

works, and is a major guarantee for impressive expression of their ideological

and emotional contents. Only on the basis of correct analysis of the content and
forms of musical works as well as the historical periods when they were
created, the creative tendencies of different schools in these periods, and even
the individuality of every composer, can performers create idiomatic and
impressive musical interpretations. Performers who lack the ability to analyze
musical works cannot have a correct understanding of their characteristics, nor
can they open up the world of profound musical interpretation.
Artistic skills are not inborn qualities, and can only be improved through
ceaseless training. Performers must prepare themselves to be creative virtuosos
with high artistic skills through unremitting efforts, enquiry and training.

6) THE CONDUCTOR IS THE COMMANDER

OF THE MUSICAL GROUP

Just as an army needs its commander to win a battle, so does a musical

group need its commander for success in performance. The quality of musical
interpretation depends largely on how the conductor leads the musical group. A
conductor who is inefficient in leadership and musical conducting cannot create
excellent musical interpretations.
The basic duty of a conductor is to do excellent organizational and political
work for the musical group and give efficient artistic guidance to musical
interpretation.
The conductor must be the educator and organizer in direct charge of the
whole process of the creative activities of the musical group first of all, before
he is an artist who creates musical interpretations.
An interpretation is the product of the collective talents and efforts of
performers. To make a good interpretation, all the performers who take part in
rendition must fulfil their share of responsibility and play their roles from the
point of view of masters, with firm unity of idea and purpose.
To ensure the unity of idea and purpose of the performers and rouse them to
political awareness and creative enthusiasm for carrying out their task of
140 KIM JONG IL

interpretation at the highest level, the conductor, the commander of the musical
group, must carry out organizational and political work among the performers
down to every detail. Only when he moves the hearts of the performers by
giving priority to political work, work among the people, and efficiently leads
his musical group through meticulous organizational work can the conductor
succeed in musical interpretation.
The conductor must put great efforts into the guidance of musical
interpretation.
The guidance of interpretation is the basic field in which the conductor
displays his or her talent and ability as a creator of musical interpretation. The
conductor who is in charge of musical interpretation has the special duty of
giving efficient guidance to interpretation. Neither the composer nor the
performers can take his place in this work.
The conductor must give efficient guidance to interpretation, not only to the
rendering techniques of performers but also to their movements and facial looks.
The conductor must pay primary attention to finding solutions to the
problems of rendering the techniques of the performers.
The level of interpretation is directly related to the rendering of the
techniques of the performers. Performers with a high level of techniques can
excellently render musical works of any description.
The rendering techniques are related to the performers’ individual skills, but
the performers’ talents and efforts alone are not enough to find satisfactory
solutions to all the problems of skill arising in musical performance. It is a very
important task for the conductor to unify the methods of playing instruments
and the individuality of the performers, raise demands concerning musical
interpretation and satisfy them. The more efforts the conductor puts into
resolving the problems of rendering techniques arising in the practice of
performance and the stronger the demands which he makes, the higher will be
the performers’ skills and the level of interpretation.
The conductor must also pay close attention to the performers’ movements
and facial looks.
In musical ensembles, even the movements and facial looks of the
performers must be in unity. No matter how skilful their performance may be,
the ensemble will not look harmonious unless the movements and facial looks
of the performers are concerted.
 3. PERFORMANCE 141

Since the performers cannot see their own movements and facial looks, the
conductor must correct their discrepancies. Only the conductor who guides
interpretation face to face with the performers can ensure the unity of their
facial looks and movements.
In our contemporary musical practice, musical works are realized not only
on the live stages but also, not infrequently, through recording. So the
conductor must also pay attention to recording and editing.
With the invention of many modern acoustic means throughout the world,
these means are widely used for musical interpretation. They provide great
possibilities of making stage sounds three-dimensional. The use of modern
musical means can increase the effect of sonority and provide the possibility of
three-dimensional appreciation of music.
Skilful recording and editing of music is important in sustaining the timbres
of musical instruments and adding three-dimensional feelings to music.
The quality of musical recording and editing depends on the level of the
ability of the recorder or musical editor, but more importantly on how strong
the demands are which the conductor makes on them.
Since the conductor must deal with the work of musical interpretation from
beginning to end on his own responsibility, he must pay close attention to all
the problems arising in the recording and editing of music, ranging from the use
of microphones and control of modulation panels to the control of lingering
resonance.
To give effective guidance to interpretation, the conductor must have a
correct plan of interpretation for musical performance.
The plan of interpretation is a general blueprint for reproducing composers’
musical works in real sounds through performance. To give an impressive
musical performance, the performance interpretation must be planned correctly.
The interpretation plan must include all the details of requirements for
interpreting the musical work to be performed. Only when it completely
reflects all these details, ranging from the problems of ensuring the artistic
contrast and unity of overall musical interpretation and skilfully organizing
feelings to the problems of tempo and stress and the alteration of volumes and
timbres can it be called a perfect blueprint for a musical performance.
A perfect interpretation plan cannot be obtained simply by a transcription of
the score. When drawing up the plan, the conductor must delve deeply into the
142 KIM JONG IL

world of music reflected in the score, size it up in relation to actual resonance,

and supplement and complete the aspects which have been overlooked or
treated crudely by the composer, by working in greater detail towards achieving
a better performance effect. Needless to say, the conductor’s work of artistically
supplementing and perfecting the musical piece must not be subjective but
accord with the artistic intentions of the composer and conform to the
ideological and emotional content of the musical work.
When working out the interpretation plan, the conductor must submit his
ideas and intentions to collective discussion and sincerely accept the opinions
of the performers, so that the collective opinions of the creative group are fully
incorporated in it. Only when the interpretation plan has incorporated the
concerted opinions of the creative group can it stay intact in different stages of
rendition. An arbitrary system and method of conducting, whereby the
conductor ignores the creative opinions of the performers and imposes his
subjective intentions upon them, makes it impossible to stimulate the
performers to a strong sense of responsibility and creative enthusiasm, and
succeed in the work of musical creation.
Accepting the opinions of performers when the conductor draws up his
interpretation plan and having his own view of musical interpretation are
different matters.
The conductor must interpret musical works from his own point of view. If
he strays from his own point of view, the performers will waver, and the
musical interpretation will flounder.
The conductor must not ignore the opinions of the performers and insist on
dictating his or her own intentions. So doing is arbitrariness and despotism,
rather than sticking to his own point of view. However, once he has entered the
stage of interpretation with the baton in his hand, he must maintain his own
point of view and make strong demands. At the stage of planning a musical
interpretation, the performers should be allowed to express their opinions to the
full, but when the plan is completed, all the performers must strictly obey their
conductor. These are the major characteristics of the system and method of
conducting and interpretation of our own style that has broken away from the
arbitrary system and method of the past.
When a detailed plan of interpretation has been drawn up, the conductor must
give systematic guidance to the performers’ training in a step-by-step manner.
 3. PERFORMANCE 143

Refined ensemble productions of music can be achieved through such

step-by-step training. To create an artistically well-harmonized musical
interpretation, the conductor must first organize individual training to ensure
that each performer skilfully renders the notation, and then the training of
different groups to ensure individual ensemble rendition and collective training
to ensure everyone performs in harmony before rehearsals start to raise the
level of musical interpretation. The process of a conductor’s guidance to the
performers’ training is the process of interpreting a musical work, the process
of creating a refined musical ensemble.
The conductor must set distinct targets and tasks for interpretation to be
carried out at each stage of training, and make strong demands in this regard.
The level of musical interpretation rises in proportion to the demands the
conductor makes on the performers. The conductor must make stronger and
stronger demands until the targets and tasks of interpretation he has set for each
stage of training are achieved.
Guidance must be given to correct even the slightest shortcomings revealed
in training before it is too late. Otherwise, the shortcomings will not be rectified
in the stage of interpretation, and will seriously impair the overall rendition.
Correcting a bad habit is many times more difficult than starting from scratch.
If he finds any defects during training, the conductor must make them known to
the performers concerned and make them repeat the training until the defects
are rectified.
The conductor’s guidance of interpretation bears fruit when the musical
work is interpreted as real resonance on the stage. At the stage of interpretation,
the conductor must conduct the performance skilfully by bringing into play all
his talents and abilities.
The effect of the conductor’s efforts to create impressive musical
interpretations depends on how the performance is conducted at the stage of
interpretation.
Setting a correct tempo, giving preliminary signals and indicating stresses
clearly are essential for conducting.
The tempo is the lifeblood of conducting. The conductor must set a correct
tempo and maintain it with complete consistency. Without maintaining a correct
tempo, it is impossible to sustain musical feelings.
In musical interpretation, it is sometimes necessary to speed up or slow
144 KIM JONG IL

down the time and tempo of some individual notes and some phrases to give
variety to feelings. However, the time and tempo that have been changed to
meet the requirements for musical interpretation must be restored to the original
state immediately. The conductor must not fail to maintain the regular tempo by
speeding it up and slowing it down too frequently. He or she must be able to
adjust partial changes in tempo skilfully while consistently maintaining the
standard tempo.
To maintain a correct tempo, the conductor must handle strong and weak
beats with great skill. An irregular tempo is due mainly to the failure to keep
the proper relationship between the strong and weak beats.
The conductor must give preliminary signals and indicate stresses at the
opportune moments.
Preliminary signals are needed to help the performers grasp the precise
musical moments for their entry and render music with composure even in the
complex mixture of various resonances of many instruments and voice parts. If
preliminary signals are not given, the performers will be too strained to regulate
their feelings properly, and find it difficult to keep time.
Stresses regulate performance and provide musical interpretations with
punch and liveliness. If the conductor puts stresses where necessary while
maintaining a regular tempo, he or she can interpret the musical work in a
lively and impressive manner. If he or she only beats time to maintain the
tempo without placing stresses, the conductor cannot make a good musical
interpretation. Unstressed musical interpretation lacks emphasis, and results in
a flat musical flow sounding insipid.
To give accurate preliminary signals and stresses, the conductor must refrain
from making unnecessary movements or from putting on airs. A lot of waving
hands is not a sign of good conducting. An efficient conductor gives
preliminary signals at opportune moments and places accurate stresses
wherever necessary while maintaining a correct tempo, though with the
minimum of hand waving. Subtle gestures mixed with hand flourishes will
result in the performers failing to distinguish between preliminary signals and
stresses.
In conducting, it is important to sustain musical feelings.
Music without feelings lacks artistic taste. Music that is performed without
feelings sounds drab. The conductor must always put major efforts into
 3. PERFORMANCE 145

sustaining musical feelings in accordance with the emotions to be expressed by

the musical work, and must always focus the interpretation on this aspect.
The baton in the hand of the conductor is the basic means of expressing
musical feelings. The baton must carry music and feelings at every movement
of the hand and at every stroke of the baton. Only then can he or she draw the
performers into the world of musical feelings.
The movements of the hand holding the baton or the conductor’s arms are
not the only means of conducting. The conductor’s facial looks, glances and all
his bodily gestures too must express delicate musical feelings. Only a
conductor who is able to feel and express musical feelings with all his or her
body can capture the hearts of the audience by means of impressive musical
interpretation.
To sustain rich musical feelings in performance, conducting must be full of
ardour. Without conducting the performance in a manner full of ardour, it is
impossible for the conductor to lead the performers to the world of profound
feelings.
Ardour emanates from the complete mastery of a musical work. The
conductor must study the notation in depth until he or she grasps not only the
thoughts and content of the work but also its requirements for interpretation.
Only complete mastery of the interpretative requirements of the work and the
ability to express them freely can enable the conductor to unify the minds and
actions of the performers and conduct the performance skilfully, overflowing
with ardour.
Artistic visions intensify ardour. Only when he or she has an artistic vision
can the conductor break fresh ground in musical interpretation and conduct the
performance with greater ardour by taking pride in adding his or her own
creative thinking to the musical work.
The conductor must not confuse ardour and excitement. Ardour is an
important means of sustaining feelings, whereas excitement is an obstacle to
the expression of feelings. If he or she is carried away with excitement, he or
she will overlook important musical moments, be unable to keep accurate time
and tempo, and fail to sustain the musical feelings properly.
An efficient conductor must have a good knowledge of music.
The art of conducting musical interpretations requires an all-round and
comprehensive knowledge of music. Only when the conductor, the commander
146 KIM JONG IL

of the musical group, has a deeper knowledge of music than anyone else can he
or she raise the general level of the performers and successfully carry out the
task of interpretation, whatever it might be, without a hitch.
A keen ear and boldness on the stage, major criteria for the qualifications of
a conductor, can be derived from a broad and profound musical knowledge.
The conductor needs a sharp ear.
Only with a sharp ear can the conductor size up the intervals accurately,
perceive wrong tones at once and ensure the harmony of timbres and volumes.
By the conductor’s sharp ear I do not mean that he or she should simply hear
sounds well; I mean a musical ear that is sensitive to musical feelings and
capable of distinguishing between consonance and dissonance of musical tones.
Only when he or she has a rich knowledge of music and is able to freely
express his or her thoughts and feelings musically as if by means of language in
everyday life, can the conductor have a musical ear capable of discerning each
tone in the complex combination of sounds.
The conductor must be bold.
A conductor who has not stage boldness cannot command a musical group
and cannot conduct a large-scale musical piece such as orchestral music with
full confidence. Stage boldness capable of interpreting musical pieces no matter
how difficult and complex is obtained by hearing many musical pieces and
knowing them thoroughly.
The conductor must be fully conversant with the theoretical and practical
questions arising in creation and performance, and must have wide musical
knowledge.
The conductor is a creative worker who artistically refines and perfects the
musical works of composers as well as a performer who reproduces these
works directly on the stage. He or she must be able to arrange musical works as
skilfully as composers, and play the piano as efficiently as pianists. Only then
can he or she interpret musical works subtly and profoundly, and have a voice
in the performance as a conductor. Those who are unable to arrange musical
works and play the piano are not qualified for conducting.
An efficient conductor must master the scientific techniques of conducting.
Only such a conductor can easily communicate his artistic intentions to
anyone by means of silent gestures and unify the movements of all performers
under his baton. Even a conductor with profound musical knowledge and rich
 3. PERFORMANCE 147

feelings cannot interpret musical works skilfully unless he has mastered the
scientific techniques of conducting.
The conductor may come to an agreement about interpretation with his
performers in advance to ensure the success of the ensemble presentation and
the expression of delicate musical feelings. That can ensure that both the
conductor and the performers feel more confident and better interpret musical
works down to every detail. However, such an agreement must be based on the
scientific techniques of conducting so that every movement can be made in
exactly the same manner even if the musical interpretation is repeated a
hundred times. If the agreement is not based on the scientific techniques of
conducting, the musical piece may be interpreted in a different way every time
it is rendered.
The techniques of conducting can be scientific when they are based on the
general laws and universal principles of motion.
Conducting is the art of expressing the artistic meanings of music by means
of the formative effect of motion. Conducting is governed by the objective laws
of motion and reflects man’s sensory understanding of the various forms of
motion and formative beauty. Therefore, it is a major guarantee for ensuring the
scientific techniques of conducting to understand the general laws and universal
principles of motion in human physical activity, and express them by means of
formative images.
To make the techniques of conducting scientific, it is necessary to make
clear distinctions between the expressive functions of each part of the body. If
the expressive functions of the different parts of the body are not clearly
distinguished from one another, there may arise confusion in understanding on
the part of the performers of the conductor’s artistic intentions, and not all the
concrete requirements for musical interpretation will be able to be incorporated
into the techniques of conducting. The conductor’s right and left hands must
play different roles in conducting, and his facial looks and bodily gestures must
perform different expressive functions.
The assessment of the level of the competence of the musical group, and the
success in musical interpretation depend on the qualifications and ability of the
conductor. The conductor must be well qualified politico-ideologically and
technically in order to carry out his responsibilities as the commander of the
musical group with success.
148

4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS

1) STRONG RESERVES ARE ESSENTIAL

FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL ART

Musicians directly undertake the development of Juche-oriented musical art.

We must train a large number of talented musical creators and artists for the
continued development of our Juche musical art which is flowering brightly
under the wise leadership of our Party.
Training a large number of talented musicians is a fundamental issue that
affects the future of the Juche musical art.
The socialist, communist musical art is developed over a long period
through many generations. In this period one generation is replaced by another.
Since the years when the Juche musical art was ushering in its heyday to the
present, when a new phase of musical development is opening, the replacement
of generations has continued among the ranks of musicians. In order to develop
the Juche musical art to a higher level and enhance its function and role in step
with the development of the times, we must continue to refurbish the ranks of
musicians with talented younger ones, and enhance their professional qualities.
The future development of the Juche musical art depends largely on the training
of large numbers of musicians from the younger generation and the
strengthening of the ranks of musicians.
The training of large numbers of able musical creators and artists is also
necessary for the full flowering of the leader’s idea of Juche art and literature
all over the world. To achieve a brilliant victory of the idea of Juche art and
literature, a fierce class struggle has to be waged against the bourgeois musical
art in all fields of musical practice and theory. The decadent bourgeois music
and reactionary trends of art and literature of all descriptions now widespread
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 149

in south Korea and capitalist countries are ideological viruses that have been
rife for a long period of time. These viruses can be eliminated only through an
uncompromising struggle between revolutionary popular music and decadent
reactionary music. To eradicate outmoded, decadent bourgeois music and
ideological trends in art and literature that obstruct the development of socialist
national music, we must build up our own force in the field of music. The
training of a large number of reserve musicians who have acquired a profound
knowledge of the idea of Juche art and literature as well as a high level of
artistic skills is the prerequisite for waging a powerful struggle ideologically
and theoretically to expose and smash the reactionary nature and insidiousness
of bourgeois music and for a brilliant victory of the Juche musical art.
Training large numbers of reserve musicians who have attained a high level
of artistic skills is also necessary in view of the characteristics of musical art in
which the form of solo performance occupies an important place.
The form of solo performance, like vocal and instrumental solos, holds an
important place in music. The solo form of music and the techniques of its
performance are developed by soloists with exceptional talents and artistic skills. At
the same time, collective ensembles also continue to raise their levels, develop and
become enriched with the growth in the number of performers with high skills.
Musical activity in the form of solo performance is carried out worldwide.
Concerts of renowned vocal and instrumental soloists or international contests
of individual skills are important opportunities for demonstrating the levels of
musical development in different countries, advancing the techniques of
performance and raising the level of interpretation. Our Juche music must attain
the international level not only in terms of musical works of high ideological
and artistic qualities and their interpretations but also in terms of individual
skills, and hold its own in international music contests. We must train a large
number of soloists with high artistic skills who are able to perform not only our
own music but also Western classical music and modern music that require
skills of whatever complexity.
The present situation requires many more reserve musicians who are well
prepared ideologically and artistically.
Producing Juche-type soloists who are politico-ideologically well prepared
and have acquired special talents and high skills is the basic objective when
training reserve musicians.
150 KIM JONG IL

Musicians from the younger generation must become revolutionary artists

who are well qualified politico-ideologically before all else.
An important task in training reserve musicians who are well qualified
politico-ideologically is to equip them firmly with a correct revolutionary world
outlook, with the great leader’s idea of Juche art and literature and with our
Party’s original theories of art and literature. Only when they are equipped with
a correct revolutionary world outlook can they create revolutionary and popular
music; and only when they have a profound knowledge of the idea and theories
of Juche art and literature can they reliably undertake the work of developing
Juche musical art. The eternal development of our Juche musical art can be
firmly guaranteed only when the musicians from the younger generation firmly
believe in the validity of the great leader’s idea of Juche art and literature and
our Party’s original theories of art and literature as their revolutionary faith, and
unfailingly and unquestioningly champion and carry them out.
Ensuring that the younger generation acquires the spirit of the
Korean-nation-first principle is a major requirement for their politico-
ideological training.
To train the rising reserve musicians to be reliable national musicians who
will shoulder the future of the Juche musical art, we must see that they acquire
an unshakable spirit of the Korean-nation-first principle and thoroughly
embody it in their musical practice.
Embodying the spirit of the Korean-nation-first principle in the field of
music means taking great pride in the fact that Korean music is best for the
Koreans and giving prominence to and developing music that meets our
people’s aspirations and demands, and serves the Korean revolution, namely,
Korean music that is a vehicle of the Koreans’ national traits, customs and
feelings and emotions.
We must make sure that the younger people have a deep understanding of
our people’s healthy and noble thoughts and feelings, varied and rich emotions
that permeate our national music, as well as the characteristics of the national
melodies, rhythmic patterns and other means of expression of national music,
so that they develop and enrich the art of music in our own way to accord with
the feelings, emotions, aspirations and demands of the Korean people.
To embody the spirit of the Korean-nation-first principle, musical
textbooks, and musical pieces for practice should be compiled mainly with our
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 151

own materials. Of course, foreign textbooks and other materials can be referred
to in the study of basic musical techniques and basic practical training. It is not
bad to refer to them for the purpose of gaining a knowledge of foreign
standards, and then to outstrip them and learn the true advantages of our Juche
musical art.
However, the music of each country has its own national characteristics, and
accordingly the techniques of performance to interpret music and the training
systems vary with the countries. To interpret our music, therefore, performance
techniques should be polished on the basis of our own schools and musical
pieces for practice. Even when adopting foreign textbooks and other materials,
we must aim at making use of their techniques for the development of our own
music, instead of swallowing them wholesale or relying exclusively on them.
Imparting a broad and deep musical knowledge and high artistic skills to the
younger generation is indispensable to developing their basic qualifications as
specialized musical artists and their ability to engage in artistic activity.
A broad and deep knowledge of music and high artistic skills are the basic
qualities of musicians as well as the basic factors enabling them to carry out
their duties with credit. Strengthening the study of specialized musical
knowledge and techniques in addition to politico-ideological education in the
training of reserve musicians is essential for the production of talented musical
creators and artists capable of creating musical interpretations of high
ideological and artistic qualities.
Training in specialized practical skills is the basic task for teaching
specialized musicians high artistic skills. Only when the training of practical
skills is intensified is it possible to produce able musical creators and artists
with outstanding talents and preeminent skills who can produce idiomatic
musical interpretations. In educating able musicians, practical skill training is
essential for teaching them the artistic skills needed for coping successfully and
independently with technical tasks however difficult and the artistic
requirements for musical creation and performance.
In practical skill training, the order and system of technical development
should be strictly observed, and a variety of textbooks and other training
materials should be used correctly and in depth. Only then can the trainees
develop their artistic skills smoothly and learn a variety of performance
techniques.
152 KIM JONG IL

Practical skill training should be given on the basis of scientific principles

and in keeping with the level of technical development and the physiological
conditions of each trainee. Every single item of practical skill training should
be taught by eliminating the bad habit of mechanical training so that the
trainees get to know the scientific principles of the performance techniques and
acquire skills accurately. Only then can the trainees, though taught the same
artistic skills, develop their abilities to sustain their individualistic special skills
in the creation of musical interpretations.
In order to acquire a broad and deep knowledge of music and high artistic
skills, it is necessary to strengthen the study of the basic theory of musical
techniques.
Intensive theoretical study in combination with practical skill training is the
way to acquire a broad and deep knowledge of music, and speed up the
development of practical skill training on the basis of a scientific theory.
The basic theory of musical technique itself is the systematic generalization
of the characteristics of acoustic physics and psychological emotions of the
musical components and means of expression which have been experienced
and understood in the long course of musical history. It is the basis of scientific
theory founded on practical experience and applied to musical practice. We
must revamp and perfect the contents of the subject of musical theory on the
basis of the achievements and experience in the practice of our Juche musical
art so that it serves as living knowledge applicable to our musical creation and
practical performance. We are greatly proud of having a varied excellent
musical heritage, revolutionary musical traditions, and valuable achievements
and rich experience in the development of Juche music. These things constitute
a solid foundation on which to make our own characteristics permeate musical
theory, and develop and perfect it in our own way. The disciplines of chords
and heterophony, the analysis of musical works and other subjects of musical
theory that have not yet been completely freed from the outmoded framework
of the conventional European musical theory or have not yet been scientifically
systematized should be set right to meet our requirements on the basis of the
rich practical achievements of our music. Some creative art workers, vocalists
and instrumentalists are unable to create musical works of various genres and
forms copiously and to interpret musical works excellently in our own style,
partly because of their own ideological aesthetic limitations and partly because
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 153

of the fact that they have not been educated on the basis of our own scientific
musical theories. We must prepare all the materials for teaching musical
theories thoroughly on the basis of our Party’s idea and theory of Juche art and
literature to suit our own situation and raise their scientific and theoretical
levels still further.
Acquiring a scientific view of the basic factors in the development of the art
of music and the Juche-oriented view of the musical heritage is the major
requirement of the study of musical history.
Music is a concrete reflection of national life and the product of the period
of its creation. The content and form of music undergo changes in step with the
progress of the times and the changes in people’s customs, thoughts and
emotions. The musical works which have been created in different periods of
socio-historical progress in our country reflect the people’s aspirations and
wishes in these periods, and represent the characteristics and limitations of
these periods.
A good knowledge of the musical history of our country is essential for
acquiring a correct understanding of the law-governed process of musical
development and for cultivating the ability to create an art of revolutionary
music that accords with the requirements and aspirations of our age, on the
basis of the heritage of progressive national music and the traditions of
revolutionary music.
New reforms and epoch-making changes in musical history take place
without exception at turning points in historical progress on the basis of
inheriting the progressive elements from the preceding period and developing
them to meet the requirements of the new age.
Generally speaking, such a turning point in the development of music
arrives when the people’s revolutionary struggle surges up as a result of
sharpening contradictions between nations and classes, when the revolution and
construction are full of significant events, and when epoch-making
socio-historical changes are reaching a climax. In the modern and present-day
history of musical development in our country, for instance, the musical genres
and forms such as enlightenment songs, children’s songs, lyrical songs and new
folk songs emerged and developed when our people’s patriotic anti-colonial
sentiments aimed at the Japanese were soaring. These contributed greatly to
stimulating anti-Japanese patriotic thoughts and feelings among students and
154 KIM JONG IL

the people in general. According to one source, the enlightenment songs

emerged in our country under the influence of Western music, religious music
in particular. This is a distortion of historical facts, an expression of the servile
attitude of bourgeois musical historians who worshipped Western music. It was
because there was our music in the preceding period that the enlightenment
songs could emerge and new types of music could come into being in the
subsequent periods.
The classical masterpieces created by the great leader during the
anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle and other anti-Japanese revolutionary
musical works occupy an especially important place in the development of
modern music in our country. The music of the anti-Japanese revolution is the
classical example of the art of revolutionary music which is permeated with the
revolutionary idea of national liberation and class emancipation of the working
class and other working people, the unbreakable fighting spirit which is
determined to realize human independence, and revolutionary optimism about
the future of socialism and communism. It is the historical root of our Juche
musical art. The study of musical history must be focused on acquiring a deep
theoretical understanding of how the musical traditions of the anti-Japanese
revolution were established, what the ideological and artistic characteristics of
these traditions are, and how they have been inherited and developed since
liberation. Only then can the musicians from the younger generation develop
into revolutionary musical artists who thoroughly defend and burnish the
anti-Japanese revolutionary musical traditions, the cornerstone of Juche musical
art, and our Party’s valuable achievements in the struggle to carry forward and
develop these traditions.
To acquire a wide range of musical knowledge it is necessary to study the
musical history of other countries as well as of our own.
A knowledge of the history of foreign music enables one to acquire a general
idea of the history of the development of music throughout the world and the
trend of modern music, which can be used for the development of our Juche
music. Textbooks and other materials about the musical history of European
countries tend to be Eurocentric, and do not give clear explanations of the turning
points in the development of musical art and the socio-historical circumstances
and conditions for the maturing of these turning points. In the musical history of
these countries, the concept of masterpieces and the standard of judging their
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 155

artistic qualities are mostly based on the doctrine of art for art’s sake and
bourgeois aesthetic views. The history of foreign music should be correctly
analyzed and assessed on the basis of the historical view of Juche music, and
wrong views of all the formalistic bourgeois, musical trends which are
widespread in European countries must be thoroughly rejected.
An important task in the training of reserve musicians is to direct great efforts
to building up strong musical foundations for them.
Artists who have received specialized musical education make rapid progress
and interpret musical works at a high level because they laid solid foundations
through specialized musical education.
Intensive training in piano playing is important in laying solid musical
foundations. The piano is a comprehensive instrument with a variety of
performance functions, and as such it is an indispensable means of musical
creation and performance practice. The ability to play the piano skilfully
strengthens musical foundations and raises the level of specialized skills.
Vocalists and instrumentalists should acquire the ability to play the piano to such
an extent as to play piano accompaniment to the musical works which they
interpret.
A good knowledge of national music and the rhythmic patterns of Korean
music is essential for building up solid musical foundations.
The rhythmic patterns of Korean music are one of the major means of
expressing our national characteristics and emotions. A good knowledge of these
patterns is needed to embody our national emotions properly in composition and
arrangement, and in emphasizing national style and exuberance in conducting
and rendition.
To be well versed in the rhythmic patterns of Korean music, it is necessary
not only to acquire a theoretical knowledge of their characteristics, but also to
have intensive beat training until the style and tastes of these patterns become
thoroughly assimilated by the trainee.
Efforts must also be put into training vocalists to be able to play
instruments skilfully, and instrumentalists to be able to sing songs well. If
vocalists are taught to play instruments like the guitar, accordion or
kayagum, and if instrumentalists are taught how to sing, it will help them
raise the levels of their specialized skills and conduct musical activities in a
variety of manners.
156 KIM JONG IL

2) SPECIALLY TALENTED RESERVE MUSICIANS

SHOULD BE TRAINED ON A SYSTEMATIC
AND SCIENTIFIC BASIS

Young people with exceptional musical aptitude and talents should be

correctly selected and given scientific and systematic education to produce
reserve musicians with outstanding artistic skills.
The correct selection of candidates is the prerequisite for the training of
world-famous soloists. Not everyone is endowed equally with musical aptitude
and talent. Just as people differ in their looks, characters and tastes, so do they
differ in their musical aptitudes and talents. To become a specially skilled soloist,
one has to be gifted with musical aptitude and talent and endowed with a certain
physiological conditions.
It should be made a principle to select young people, who are gifted
musically, by central authority, not by the system of recommendation, and every
candidate should be permitted to sit for the examination. If they are selected from
among the limited number of the candidates who have been recommended by
schools or other organizations, musical talent budding among the broad sections
of the working people, students and schoolchildren may be overlooked.
Especially in view of the fact that the musical and cultural standards of the
masses are rising steadily, and that younger people with musical aptitudes and
talents are rapidly growing in number, the range of candidates must not be
limited.
Many experienced experts should take part in the work of selecting the
candidates. Specialized music teachers and experts who are to train reserve
musicians can accurately judge the candidates’ musical talents and aptitudes and
choose promising young people.
Regularly organizing musical contests among students and schoolchildren is
an important way of choosing young people with musical aptitudes and talents
from among the broad masses. These contests, conducted at both national and
local levels to suit specific situations, will promote the development of musical
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 157

art on a mass basis and facilitate the effective selection of candidates.

An important task in training reserve musicians is to give them scientific and
systematic education so that their talents are brought to fruition.
Even a person of unusual aptitude cannot develop properly without proper
training.
Our Party has already emphasized the need to strengthen the education of
exceptionally gifted musical trainees. The musical talent I mean differs
fundamentally from the “talent” talked about by imperialists and scholars on the
payroll of the bourgeoisie. Their “theory of talent” divides people into the
“gifted” and the “dullards” at the outset, and regards these categories as absolute.
Their “theory of talent” is based on reactionary bourgeois ethnology and
fatalism. It is the expression of the anti-popular idea of the exploiting class to
rationalize its domination of the masses as well as an unscientific doctrine that
distorts the decisive role of education in people’s ideological and intellectual
development. The imperialists and modern revisionists are now denying the
ideological and class character of music and its national characteristics. They
assert the supremacy of “pure music,” describing only people with great creative
techniques and high performance skills as “talented.” But we do not recognize as
talented musicians the deformed people who are indifferent to politics and
ignorant of the general principles of social progress, the people who, steeped in
ultra-egoism, only seek personal fame and pleasure, discarding human reason
and even elementary conscience, no matter how high the skills they possess. We
must categorically reject the bourgeois “theory of talent” and further strengthen
the education of the younger people endowed with exceptional musical aptitudes
and talents, and train them to be talented musicians of the Juche type who
devotedly serve the Party and the leader, the socialist motherland and the people.
To produce world-famous soloists, we must intensify early training.
Musical aptitude appears in childhood, so we must discover it among
children and develop it as early as possible to brighten it. In their days in
kindergarten and primary school, the children grow rapidly and develop the
intellectual and physical conditions to digest musical knowledge and skills. We
must give them specialized musical training when they are sensitive to music and
physically pliable enough to learn complex and delicate skills, so as to ensure
that they build up solid musical foundations.
To give children effective early musical training, the content and method of
158 KIM JONG IL

education should be applied in keeping with the law of the development of their
intellects and practical abilities.
Early musical training is the first stage in specialized education to lay the
musical foundation for the children.
Early musical education must begin with the determination of the musical
instruments in which the children are to specialize on the basis of a deep and
comprehensive understanding of their musical aptitudes and talents, as well as
their physiological conditions. The selection of these instruments to suit their
musical aptitudes and physical conditions can facilitate the smooth development
of their performance skills. Early musical education should be centred on laying
solid musical foundations in combination with training to develop the children’s
correct senses of sound and rhythm. At this stage, the order and the systematic
character of technical development must be strictly observed.
Knowledge acquired in childhood remains deeply impressed in people’s
memories for a long time, serving as the basis of the development of their
intellects, skills and practical abilities. A Korean saying has it that a habit that is
acquired at the age of three lasts till the age of eighty. This means that a habit
acquired in childhood is extremely difficult to change. If the sequence of the
development of skills is violated because of haste or if this or that is taught
without any system, the children will develop bad habits that will hamper the
development of their skills.
In the stage of early education, every single item must be taught accurately
and repeatedly until it is mastered for the future development of the children,
and must be taught in a scientific manner so as to build up a solid foundation on
which to develop their artistic skills to a high level. In early musical education,
close attention must also be paid to teaching the children a wide range of
knowledge and helping them develop delicate feelings and musical emotions.
Children being given early musical education should be given frequent
opportunities of appreciating music and seeing performances of music and its
sister arts. They must be given visual education, objective lessons and
education in practical life in various ways, to suit the content of education and
their intellectual development. This will help them to deal with tasks however
difficult and complex with great skill from childhood and to develop into
excellent musicians who can express the ideological and emotional contents of
musical works richly and deeply as refined musical interpretation.
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 159

Developing strong willpower and staying power through basic specialized

skill training is a major requirement musical artists must meet in everyday life.
These qualities must be acquired as habits from childhood. Musical skills can
be built up and consolidated through diligent and strenuous repeated training
with intense creative enthusiasm. Even soloists who have already acquired a
high level of artistic skills can maintain and consolidate their levels and
develop onto a higher level only when they have regular basic training. From
the stage of early education, children should be encouraged to acquire the habit
of undergoing skill training diligently and patiently, without omitting it even for
a single day.
The training of soloists with high artistic skills should be conducted in
keeping with the characteristics of music.
Music is the emotional expression of human life, thoughts and feelings,
which are expressed through musical language with unique expressive force.
Producing reserve musicians with high artistic skills in keeping with the
characteristics of music means training them on the basis of educational forms
and methods that accord with the special character of expressing musical
content and the characteristics of musical interpretation. Musical emotions,
which are expressed by means of unique musical language and grammar, are
extremely delicate, concrete and universal, and yet characterized clearly by the
performer’s individuality.
The work of training reserve musicians to acquire high artistic skills and
individuality for the efficient expression of varied human feelings and emotions
is a very difficult, complex and creative undertaking. Therefore, the forms and
methods of education must also be applied to suit this undertaking.
To strengthen the system of individual tutoring in musical skill training is
indispensable for training soloists in high artistic skills and individuality.
Specialized musical skill training is given to trainees with different degrees
of musical aptitudes and stages of development and with a variety of
individuality. Therefore, the methods of general lectures and collective teaching
alone will not effectively meet the purpose of producing reserve soloists. In
order to develop budding musically talented young people into soloists with
uncommon artistic skills and distinct individuality, it is mandatory to give them
specialized skill training by the method of individual tutoring. Our Party’s
consistent policy is to strengthen the system of individual tutoring in musical
160 KIM JONG IL

skill training.
The application of the method of individual tutoring does not meet its
purpose automatically. To develop the trainees into musicians with high artistic
skills capable of creating idiomatic musical interpretations, various teaching
methods that accord with the content of education and the degree of the
trainees’ preparedness should be applied. At the same time, stereotypes and
imitations in teaching should be eliminated thoroughly. If the same musical text
is taught to the trainees of the same class without discrimination, or if the same
musical text is taught by the same method in disregard of the trainees’
preparedness and individuality, it will be impossible to raise the level of their
skills to the full and sustain their particular skills. The tendency of demanding
that the trainees imitate their teacher or allowing them to copy foreign musical
works and performances which are used for the trainees’ reference must be
eradicated.
To improve individual tutoring, it is essential to select musical texts
properly and apply the method of teaching them correctly and quickly on the
basis of a close study and full understanding of the trainees’ strengths and
weaknesses.
In specialized skill training, the descriptive method of presenting more
concrete and vivider ideas and the logical method of teaching the scientific
principles that govern the means of expression of music and performance
techniques should be properly combined. Music is an art that is appreciated via
people’s sense of hearing. It is created by the conscious movements of various
parts of the human body, such as the vocal organs of singers and the fingers of
performers. Specialized skill training should be given to help the singers and
performers develop the ability to identify their own voices and sounds
accurately, produce beautiful and gentle voices and sounds in keeping with
their physical conditions, and regulate them to solve technical problems
however difficult and complex with great skill. This is the way to develop them
into soloists with high artistic skills. To ensure that the trainees acquire a
correct understanding of what is taught to them, it is also necessary that they
learn the physiological structure of the human body and the principles of their
movements. Demonstrations of singing and performances should be arranged
for them, modern technical equipment like tape-recorders and videos should be
introduced in their training, and mirrors should be used to help the trainees to
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 161

see the shapes of their mouths, facial looks and the movements of their arms, so
that they can rectify mistakes in this regard.
Specialized skill training should be combined closely with creative practice
in order to train reserve soloists to suit the characteristics of the art of music.
Although individual tutoring is the basic form of specialized musical skill
training, lecturing alone is not enough to produce reserve musicians with high
artistic skills and a wide range of knowledge. Strengthening practice in
combination with skill training makes it possible for the trainees to consolidate
the knowledge they have acquired through lectures and also gain experience
through practice, acquire fresh knowledge needed for musical practice and
develop their self-confidence on the stage.
For the purpose of improving practice, various forms of practice such as
vocal and instrumental solos, musical ensemble performances and the creation
of operas should be rationally combined, and each form of practice should be
conducted substantially at a high level. To this end, it is necessary to set the
aims and contents of practice correctly, ensure the preparations and conditions
for the practice to the full, teach the original creative system and rules
established by our Party, and strongly demand that stage ethics be strictly
observed in the course of practice.
An important way to help trainees gain self-confidence on the stage is to
provide many opportunities for them to mount the stage and to become familiar
with it. Frequent participation in demonstrations of skills and in touring
performances in the field to encourage the people to increase economic
productivity, and performance on the stage to breathe the same air as the
audience can help trainees become familiar with the stage and self-confident,
and raise the level of their artistic skills.
The function and role of musical education institutions must be enhanced to
improve the production of soloists with special talents and high artistic skills.
Able musical creators and artists who are well qualified
politico-ideologically and have high artistic skills can only be produced
properly through systematic specialized education.
Only when they receive systematic specialized education can the reserve
musicians lay solid ideological and artistic foundations, acquire a wide range of
deep knowledge and shoulder the task of carrying forward the Juche musical
art.
162 KIM JONG IL

The ideology and artistic skills of artists can develop to a certain extent
through practical creative activity. However, artists who have not received
systematic specialized education cannot make rapid progress, and the level of
their development is limited.
Through systematic education, people learn a wide range of ideas and
aspects of culture that have been developed by humanity, and acquire a correct
view of nature and society. Only when they have learned the science and
technology needed for the transformation of nature and society can they
develop satisfactorily the qualifications and personalities needed for fulfilling
their responsibilities and roles as masters of society. Only when they receive
systematic musical education can musical artists, too, acquire a deep
knowledge of the great leader’s idea of Juche art and literature and the Party’s
original theories of art and literature, become fully conversant with the musical
culture developed by humanity and the trend of world music, and build up a
solid foundation and creative ability to find independent solutions to the
theoretical and practical problems arising in the work of musical creation.
In our country now, there is a well-established system of musical education
to train the reserves of musical creators and artists, ranging from the system of
preschool education and regular education to part-time education for artists.
The great leader got the Pyongyang University of Music and Dance
established in the difficult years of peaceful construction, the first of its kind in
our history.
The Pyongyang University of Music and Dance is the highest institution for
art education, the “seed farm” for the training of reserve artists who will
develop Juche art in our country. The future development of our stage art
depends largely on how this university educates reserve artists. The university
must produce a large number of creative workers and artists who will do their
bit to develop our stage art to a higher stage, as well as many exceptionally
talented and skilled soloists who can hold their own on the stages of the world.
The art schools that have been established in Pyongyang and each province
under the wise leadership of our Party are the local bases for the training of
talented artists and art teachers. These schools should build up their material
and technical foundations and continue to improve education to raise the level
of local artists and art teachers and meet the growing demands for musical
artists on their own initiative.
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 163

The musical education institutions and schools of different levels must

further improve the musical education system that has already been established,
fully display its advantages, and thus carry out their missions and duties. They
must also improve the content and methods of musical education in keeping
with the requirements of the development of the situation, and continue to raise
the level of musical education.
The quality of education depends on the qualifications of teachers. However
well the content of education is arranged, and even though sufficient
educational conditions have been prepared, it will be impossible to train
children to become musical artists with outstanding talents and artistic skills
unless the teachers who are directly responsible for their education are highly
qualified. Only teachers with a keen political vision and a wide range of
knowledge, and who are well versed in their specialities and equipped with
practical educational qualifications can teach their pupils to be revolutionary
musical artists who have acquired the unshakable revolutionary outlook of
Juche and outstanding musical talent.
To raise the level of their qualifications, teachers must establish the
revolutionary atmosphere of studying, and study habitually every day. If they
acquire the revolutionary habit of studying, the teachers can steadily raise the
level of their practical artistic qualifications and have a good influence which
encourages their pupils to do their school work diligently.
To improve teachers’ qualifications, keep the content of musical education on
the basis of the Party’s policies and science, and modernize it, it is necessary to
intensify the work of scientific research among the teachers. The teachers and
researchers in music schools must intensify scientific research, and write valuable
treatises and reference materials that give profound solutions to the scientific and
theoretical problems arising in musical education and in the practice of creation
and performance. They must also write music textbooks of our own style and of
high quality. Only then can they give their pupils a wider range and more
profound depth of knowledge, bring about scientific and modernized musical
education, and firmly establish the Juche orientation in this work.
Strengthening the study of musicology in musical education institutions and
scientific research institutes is an important way to improve the training of
reserve musicians and develop Juche music to a higher stage.
Our research into musical science is now lagging behind the practice of
164 KIM JONG IL

creation and performance, and musical theories and criticism are not being
developed vigorously either.
Twenty years have passed since we effected a revolution in opera and
created the Sea of Blood-style opera, a great innovation in the world’s opera
history, and a great deal of success and experience has been gained in breaking
new ground in creating a variety of revolutionary and popular genres and forms
of music. Musicologists must amplify in great theoretical depth our Party’s
achievements and experience in the development of Juche music, and write
many more theoretical musical books that expound on the successes made in
creation and performance. They must also intensify criticism which plays the
leading role in disseminating the successes and experiences scored in musical
creation and performance practice and in raising them to a higher stage.
We must improve the work of discovering and preserving the musical
heritage of the nation and correctly assessing it on historical and modern
principles, keeping the younger generation informed of our musical heritage
and critically inheriting and developing it to meet our contemporary
requirements. We must train many more reserves of musical theoreticians and
critics, solidify the material foundations of musical science research institutes
and bring about new changes in the development of the science of our Juche
music.
We must improve the work of musical publication to meet the present
requirements for the development of our music, increase the varieties of
musical publications and raise their quality levels much higher, so that they
make an active contribution to the training of musical reserves and the
development of the Juche musical art.
The work of art education is a worthwhile and honourable undertaking to
train reserve creative workers and artists who are loyal to the Party and the
revolution, and highly talented. Deeply conscious of their honourable and noble
duties, teachers and other workers in musical education institutions must devote
all their wisdom and efforts to the training of many more and better talented
musical creators and artists, who will devote themselves to the Party and the
leader, to the society and the people.
Creating excellent music is no easy task.
Man is the master of music, and also creates music. Music is not only the
expression of man’s thoughts and feelings but also the product of his thinking,
 4. TRAINING OF RESERVE MUSICIANS 165

enquiry, efforts and ardour. True music is characterized by beauty, noble quality
and profound and strong emotions.
Musicians who create Juche music must equip themselves firmly with the
Juche idea and warmly experience the life which embodies the Juche idea. Only
then can they create beautiful and noble music that accords with the thoughts
and feelings of the masses.
Deep thinking and enquiry for the creation of true music can only be
genuine when these activities are motivated by the musician’s noble spirit to
serve the people. Moreover, they can bear excellent fruit only when they are
supported by the musician’s high musical qualifications. When the musician’s
unremitting efforts and ardour are added to such qualifications, the musical
product emerges really powerfully.
Musicians must always be faithful to the people and art.
Only musicians who are loyal to the Party’s leadership, have a right attitude
of serving the people by means of art and have dedicated themselves to the
cause of the leader, the Party and the people through practical struggle can
create excellent musical works that will be handed down throughout history.
This is fully illustrated by the significant events in the days when the heyday of
Juche music was ushered in by effecting the revolution in songs, operas,
orchestral music and music in general under the leadership of the Party.
Safeguarding the great leader’s idea of Juche art and literature and the
Party’s achievements in the development of Juche music is the fundamental
question in developing our music to a higher stage.
Safeguarding and inheriting and brilliantly developing the revolutionary
traditions of our music, which struck root as a result of the establishment of the
idea of Juche art and literature by the great leader and which have been carried
forward to full flowering by the Party, is the way to preserve the revolutionary
and popular character of our music, and develop it into a socialist and
communist art of music.
Bearing in mind the great pride and self-confidence in having grown up
under the Party’s care and working to create musical works in happiness, the
officials in the field of music, together with musicians, must produce copious
revolutionary musical works by sticking to their duty as the Party’s
revolutionary musicians who stay firm in whatever storms, without being
swayed by temptations however sweet.