Slide 1
La,Un-Yung (1922~93) Korean Composer

La,Un-Yung (1922- 93), Korean composer, dedicated his life in enlightenment of Korean musical language. He produced approximately fifteen hundred compositions, spent over forty-two years in lecture halls in universities, published a series of textbooks on music theory, and left four volumes of collection of essays and criticism.

He advocated modernizing native. He emphasized research, discovery, and preservation of the Korean folk elements, familiar technique seen in Bartok and Kodaly, and he employed the twentieth century Western harmony to widen the possibility of the new style. As the Western music was rooting itself in Korea in the 1950's, La foresaw and pioneered a method, which provided a direction for the coming composers in Korea.

He composed 13 symphonies, 6 concertos, 1 orchestral work, 1 opera ,12 chamber & piano pieces, 18 art songs and 29 lyric songs, 15 solo spirituals, 4 cantatas and 202 children`s songs. As a choral conductor at his church for 32 years, La was inspired in his personal walk with God to pledge seven new hymns per month, and his continuous obedience gave birth to 1,239 hymns until one month before his death.

At age twenty-three La began his long career as an educator. He taught at the college of music of the Yonsei University for 21 years, and even after his retirement he continued to teach as an emeritus professor. His textbooks on music theory in ten volumes, based on his lectures, are unprecedented in Korea; they comprise of The Fundamentals of College Music, Harmony, Counterpoint, Musical Form, Choral Arranging, Orchestration, Musical Composition, Musical Analysis, Musical Expression, and Contemporary Harmony.

During the frontier period of modern music in Korea, La`s relentless enthusiasm resulted in origination of "La`s New Harmonization" seen in his works, and his efforts were internationally recognized when Portland University conferred him the honorary doctorate in liberal arts in 1974. After La`s death, Korean government presented him with the Kum-Kwan Arts Medal, the highest honor that an artist can receive in Korea.

Works

SYMPHONIES | CONCERTOS | ORCHESTRAL WORKS | OPERAS | CHAMBER PIECES |
CANTATAS | ART SONGS | SOLO SPIRITUALS | CHORUS | CHILDREN'S SONG | KOREAN HYMN
     Symphonies
  • Symphony No.1 "Korean War" (1958)
  • Symphony No.2 "1961" (1962)
  • Symphony No.3 (1963)
  • Symphony No.4 (1964)
  • Symphony No.5 Written in the Serial Technique (1965)
  • Symphony No.6 "Tam-Ra" (1966)
  • Symphony No.7 "The Bible" (1968)
  • Symphony No.8"1967" (1968)  
  • Symphony No.9 "Sanjo" (1969)
  • Symphony No.10 "The Creation" (1972)
  • Symphony No.11 for Symphonic Band (1969)
  • Symphony No.12 "North and South" (1974)
  • Symphony No.13 "Arirang" (1974)
    •  Concertos
  • Piano Concerto No.1 (1964)
  • Piano Concerto No.2 (1968)
  • Piano Concerto No.3 (1970)
  • Violin Concerto No.1 "Romantic" (1965)
  • Violin Concerto No.2 (1969)
  • Cello Concerto No.1 (1968)
    •  Orchestral Works
  • March "The Unification" (1956)
    •  Operas
  • Opera "The Emile Bell" (1972)
    •  Chamber Pieces
  • Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra (1941)
  • String Quartet No.1 "Romantic" (1942) 
  • Exotic Suite for Piano (1942)
  • Rhapsody for Piano (1942)
  • Cello Sonata No.1 "Classic" (1946)
  • Oriental Dance "The Fountain of Pa-Ra-Mun" (1951)
  • Piano Trio No.1 Written in the 12 Tone Technique(1955)
  • Sanjo for Violin & Piano (1955)  
  • 6 Preludes  for Piano (1955)
  • Theme & Variations Written in the 12 Tone Technique (1955)
  • Shinawi for 8 Players (1965)
  • 12 Preludes for Piano Vol.1 (1973)
  • Fantasy for Solo Cello (1978)
  • 12 Preludes for Piano Vol.2
    •  Cantatas
  • Seek Ye first the Kingdon of God, and his Righteousness (1960)  
  • Easter Cantata (1956)
          1. Transfuguration    
          2. The Entry into Jerusalem  
          3.The Prayer of Mt.Gethsemane   
          4.The Way to Golgotha   
          5.Hallelujah   
  • X-mas Cantata (1956)
          1. Prelude   
          2. Mixed Chorus   
          3. Tenor Solo   
          4. Duet   ;
          5. Soprano Solo
          6. Duet   
          7. Female Chorus
          8. Childdren's Chorus
          9. Bariton Solo;
          10. Mixed Chorus
  •  Cantata "My Lord,my God" (1979)
    • Art Songs
  •  "Fareware" (1939)
  •  "The Bat" (1946)
  •  "Moonlit Night" (1946)
  •  "Should We Part" (1947)
  •  "To the Stars and the Birds" (1948)
  •  "Song beyond the river" (1949)
  •  "Nightingale" (1950)
  •  "Donkey"(1955)
  •  "Flower and Cat" (1955)
  •  "Salvation of the Soul" (1955)
  •  "Calling the Spirits of the Dead" (1964)
  •  "To Sell a dream" (1969)
  •  "Mountain"(1969)
  •  "Blue Grapes" (1969)
  •  "A walk at night" (1969)
  •  "Lulaby"(1973)
  •  "A Dream of Autumn nights"(1980)
  •  "Besides of a Chrysanthemum"(1985)
  •  "Autumn  (1936)   
  •  "My hometown  (1950)   
    •  Solo Spirituals
  •  "The Ninety and Nine" (1949)
  •  "The Lord's Prayer I" (1950)
  •  "Psalm 12th" (1952)
  •  "Psalm 46th" (1952)
  •  "Psalm 23th" (1953)
  •  "Psalm 15th" (1953)
  •  "Psalm 30th" (1953)
  •  "Psalm 130th"(1956)
  •  "While shepherds watched the flocks" (1956)
  •  "Psalm 84th" (1958)
  •  "Come,O Lord" (1969)
  •  "Psalm 67th" (1970)
  •  "Yield Not to Temptation"(1976)
  •  "The Lord's Prayer II" (1972)
  •  "The Apostolic Creed" (1976)
    • Chorus
  •  "All to Jesus I Surrender" (1949)  
  •  "A Nation of Morning Calm"(1958)
  •  "A song for Contribution"(1958)
  •  "The Light of The World"(1958)
  •  "The Greatest is th Love" (1975)
    • Children's Songs
  •  "A Footprint of shoes"  
  •  "Mt. Kum-Kang"
  •  "Mother""  
  •  "A Song for Children"
  •  "Lyu,Kwan-Soon"
  •  "General Lee,Soon-Shin"
  •  "HeongBoo&NolBoo"  
  •  "Mountain"  
    • Korean Hymn
  •  "Blue Sea fi Tiberias"
  •  "In the dark World"
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