Chwita refers to the simultaneous playing of wind and percussion instruments. Daechwita refers to a large-scale performance of chwita and seak (traditional ensemble music played with instruments with small sound volume suited to an indoor event) to announce the presence of the King or for a parade of troops.
Chwita appear in murals dating from Goguryeo (circa 37 BC – 668 AD) and in records about Baekje (18 BC – 660 AD), which tells us that it was performed during the Three Kingdoms Period. Chigakgun (a military band), which originated in the Goryeo Period (877 – 1394), continued into the Joseon Period (1392 – 1910). Seak came to be included in the military band repertoire in the mid-Joseon Period.
The military band playing chwita and seak wore a yellow uniform with a blue band hung across the chest, and a straw hat. They played jing (large gong), janggo (hourglass-shaped drum), buk (drums), nabal (trumpets), sora (conch horns), and taepyeongso (conical wooden oboe). At the command of the leader, jing and buk start up and they are followed by the other players. Their playing gives a feeling of being brave, resonant, and magnificent. After the forced disbanding of the Korean troops by Japanese imperialists toward the end of the Korean Empire (1897 – 1910), “Piri Jeongak and Daechwita” has never been played formally. Some semblance of this style of music has barely been maintained by private businesses for advertisement, or by temples for rituals, but now it is almost extinct.
Daechwita is a precious cultural heritage as the music that displays the unyielding spirit of the people of olden days.
Ÿ Change in the name: Daechwita → Piri Jeongak and Daechwita (in June 1998)