Essential Korean music reference

World music mavens take note: there’s now available what seems to be an indispsensable guide to Korean music in a two book, two CD package written and compiled by Keith Howard. The author lived in Korea for many years, is fluent in Korean, and now teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ll just quote from the review that appeared on MusicWeb International:

This is an encyclopaedic panorama of Korean music: there’s no equivalent in the English language. On these terms, it will be an indispensable standard reference for anyone without access to Korean language sources. It covers the entire range of Korean music that has been documented, from the post-colonial period to very recent times. It covers what has been retained of ancient Court ritual, and folk music, popular crossover and modern contemporary music. There’s even a reference to the famous and exceedingly cute Little Angels children’s dance and song troupe! Nowhere else will a reader find so much detail.

Those interested can buy the package through the site, based in England.