해인사 새벽예불: 첫번째 소리 (The Buddhist Meditation Music of Korea: Dawn of Haein-sa, the Calm Sea Temple)

Beompae is the liturgical chant tradition of Korean Buddhism, used to intone sutras, dhāraṇīs, and ritual verses during temple ceremonies. It features melismatic, highly ornamented vocal lines delivered in free rhythm, prioritizing breath, diction, and solemn projection over metered pulse. Texts are sung in Sino-Korean (hanmun) as well as in Korean, and the chant is framed by the sounding of the four Buddhist temple instruments: the beomjong (large bronze bell), beopgo (dharma drum), mogeo (wooden fish), and unpan (cloud-shaped metal plate). The melodic contour favors stepwise motion, stable pitch centers, and ornamental inflections (sigimsae) characteristic of Korean traditional music, aiming to sanctify space and focus communal meditation. Functionally, beompae is prayer through sound: it ritualizes scripture, guides processional movement, and marks thresholds in ceremonies such as Yeongsanjae, one of Korea’s most important Buddhist rites.