culture

“A female instrumental ensemble was formed under the energetic guidance of leader Kim Jong Il who had intended to train a world-famous instrumental ensemble in the late 1960s when the spirit of heroic Korea was exciting the whole world. The female instrumentalists, in white skirts and jackets, perfectly played the instrumental music The Snow Is Falling with high artistic skills, touching the heartstrings of everyone. The appearance of the ensemble led to the organization of the Mansudae Art Troupe,” said O Yong Chol, head of the art troupe.

The art troupe was formed by Kim Jong Il on September 27 1969 and named by President Kim Il Sung. For over 50 years, it has admirably played a vanguard role as a model organization of Juche-oriented art and literature in developing the musical art of the country, thus making a tangible contribution to demonstrating to the world the dignity of the DPRK ushering in the period of the renaissance in the 20th century. 

After its organization, the art troupe, through energetic creative activities, creditably produced and put on the stage many masterpieces like We Will Remain Faithful Generation after Generation, a hymn praising the dear leader Kim Jong Il sung by all people.

Kim Jong Il saw to it that national musical instruments were combined with Western ones, breaking from the old conventional way of playing an accompaniment to dances by separating national musical instruments and Western ones. Under his guidance, the female instrumental ensemble created and played the ingenious Korean-style dance accompaniment Bumper Harvest of Apple.

On the basis of this, the art troupe created the music pieces of the revolutionary opera The Flower Girl as mixed orchestrations. This ushered in a new history of all-round mixed orchestration in the country. As a result, music and dance tale Song of Paradise was created as a model work of a new type of comprehensive theatrical art in the Juche era.  

Korean-style masterpieces produced by the Mansudae Art Troupe in those days were highly praised in the UK and Italy which were called the “prince of opera” and “centre of European civilization” and many other countries as well as countries in Asia. They said, “The mixed accompaniment of the dance accompaniment music Bumper Harvest of Apple is very original and both the East and West must emulate the DPRK in terms of national music”, “It is miraculous art” and “It is an art the audience can understand without reading the subtitles”. 

The male chorus group formed under the care of the leader was quite popular with the audience both at home and abroad.

After listening to the choruses sung by the group consisting of young novices, journalists of Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun said that the group seemed to consist of People’s and Merited Artistes and that especially, their ensemble level was terrifically excellent. 

After the perfection of the Juche-oriented mixed orchestration and the creation of musical representations of the unique female instrumental ensemble, the art troupe flawlessly produced lots of dance pieces, including group dances Azaleas of the Homeland and The Glow over Kangson, as models of Juche-oriented dance art.

The spirit of Korean-style art creation called the Mansudae spirit was created in the course of making a signal innovation in the activities to create the best music and dance pieces, new and distinctive genres of instrumental music and of vocal music performance and others. And the art troupe could distinguish itself as a world-famous one in less than ten years since its organization. 

Through decades and ages, the art troupe finely performed such monumental masterpieces as orchestral music and chorus Song of Comradeship and orchestral music and chorus The People Offer Glory to the Party, a new genre of performance of a Korean style.

The Mansudae Art Troupe is still held in affection by the people as it creates and performs masterpieces reflecting the reality of the country which is advancing under the banner of socialism of Juche under the leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un. It also gives performances to encourage the people in the struggle for the building of a socialist power.

The art troupe was awarded Order of Kim Il Sung in 1972 and has so far produced more than 100 Kim Il Sung Prize winners, People’s Artists and Artistes and Merited Artists and Artistes.