Statue of Kodály at Szent István square in Pécs, Hungary.WIKIPEDIA
Na Sung-in
The author is a music critic and director of the classical music brand Poongwoldang.
Songs sung by ordinary people nourish the human spirit. Long before we understand what music is, they seep into our bodies and minds. Melodies, rhythms and breaths absorbed in a mother's embrace are like seeds awaiting germination. Once our voices mature and we discover our own breath and sound, they spring to life.
Such songs are rooted in the land and everyday existence, passed down through generations sharing the same place and experience. Because life is inseparable from language, songs expressing our land and lives naturally emerge in our mother tongue. Ultimately, music becomes a force connecting people.
The German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder understood this power. "Song loves the multitude and the gathering of many," he wrote, calling for a chorus of listeners' ears, voices and hearts. Community, attentive listening, shared voices and sympathetic hearts embody virtues. Is harmony not fundamentally about listening, expressing ourselves and caring for others?
This conviction inspired Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, who joined Béla Bartók in collecting traditional songs from Hungarian peasants. Drawing on their melodies, Kodály created new choral works that transformed folk traditions into expressions of collective humanity.
Among them was "Evening Song" (1938), composed as Europe again approached war. It tells of people encountering nightfall in a forest, with nowhere to sleep, praying for protection through the darkness. Their plea for shelter and peace unfolds in an atmosphere of extraordinary, almost mysterious tranquility.
The music offers more than consolation. It suggests that even when people lose their way, they need not surrender their humanity. A song carried within the heart can preserve compassion amid uncertainty, fear and displacement.
Kodály believed genuine harmony required four carefully cultivated qualities: a trained ear, cultivated knowledge, a refined heart and skilled hands.
Am I such a person? Do I possess genuine understanding and diligent hands? Can my ears respond sensitively to another person's voice? Do I have the generosity to support someone struggling for breath, filling the silence until that person can sing again?
These questions reach beyond music. They concern how we live together, how we recognize one another's vulnerability and how we contribute without overwhelming others. True harmony requires neither identical voices nor perfect individuals. It emerges when people listen and make room for one another.
Listen to Kodály's "Evening Song." This brief, prayerlike choral work reveals how words and voices can come together to express something greater: the harmony of life itself, sustained through mutual attention, understanding and care.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
