THE MUSIC OF CAMBODIA - 3-CD BOXED SET

Description: This listing is for a new boxed set delivered directly from the label:the project volume 1:On the heels of the historic elections of May 1993 came the first release in The Music of Cambodia series. It features instruments and musical styles never before heard outside of Cambodia, and was recorded in one of the greatest architectural achievements in all of Asia - the legendary temple complex of Angkor Wat. The 9 Gong Gamelan, featured prominently in the first volume of The Music of Cambodia, is a relative of the famous gamelan instruments of Indonesia, but is virtually unknown outside the area around Angkor Wat. Given the opportunity to record one of the world's rarest instruments inside one of the world's great architectural masterpieces, producer David Parsons found an enormous wealth of lively, traditional music in the Angkor Wat region. The first volume in The Music of Cambodia series features four different musical styles. The pinpeat orchestra is a local version of the royal court music of the great Khmer Empire of the 9th–15th centuries. Sinuous melodies on oboe and fiddle wend their way over an intricate bed of interlocking wood and metal percussion instruments. The funeral music, featuring the rare 9–gong gamelan and its ensemble, has a restrained dignity, but is also quite spirited at times. There is also an example of solo oboe music. The oboists in Cambodia never pause for breath, having mastered the technique of playing while inhaling as well as exhaling. In addition, the folk dance music of the tribal minorities of northwestern Cambodia are included. Cambodian music is a mystery to most of the world, and the music around Angkor Wat is a mystery even to the rest of Cambodia. But it is a mystery whose beauties are easily revealed to Western ears. volume 2:On the walls of Angkor Wat, the famous bas–reliefs show the instruments of the Khmer Imperial court of a thousand years ago: double reeds, wooden xylophones played in pairs, unusual sets of metal gongs placed in circular frames, and drums. Incredibly, these instruments and much of the court music still survive today, despite the decimation of Cambodian arts and culture during the Khmer Rouge regime. This recording is the second in a three–volume series that reveals the mysteries of Cambodian music to the outside world. Following the rarely heard instruments and styles of the Angkor Wat region in the first volume, this volume of The Music of Cambodia series presents the beauty, refinement, and energy of the royal court music. Although there is no royal court in modern Cambodia, the Cambodian government has fought mightily to preserve its fragile links to the glories of the ancient Khmer Empire. The dance and music of the royal court are considered very important links, and this recording features some of the finest musicians still living in southeast Asia. In addition, The Music of Cambodia, Volume 2, includes the popular Cambodian music ensemble known as Mahori, the magical trance and possession music of the Memut, and some literally breath-taking solos for reed, wood flute, and buffalo horn. Recorded in Phnom Penh, this collection combines the authenticity of a field recording with the sonic excellence of a modern studio record. In one piece, the hazy shimmer of over-tones from the court ensemble's gong-chime instruments haunt the background of the performance, while the Cambodian oboe swirls atop a bed of precisely interlocking xylophone patterns. In another, the casting of a spell to ward off black magic is accompanied by the ever–accelerating rhythm of the trance music of the tribal Arak people. That these styles have survived is a tribute to the strength of Cambodian music. volume 3:The third volume of The Music of Cambodia completes a musical document trilogy, bringing to Western audiences for the first time the sounds that the ancient rulers of the Khmer Empire might have heard. After presenting the rare instrumental and musical traditions of the Angkor Wat region in The Music of Cambodia, Volume 1, and the music of the Royal Court in The Music of Cambodia, Volume 2, producer David Parsons returned to Phnom Penh to record solo performances by some of the finest living musicians in Cambodia. While the first two releases in this series focused on the surprising vitality and high standards of ensemble playing in traditional Khmer music, this volume gives the individual musicians a chance to show off their virtuosity and the range of colors available on their instruments. The solo instrumental music heard in The Music of Cambodia, Volume 3 includes examples of most of the major wind instruments and several string instruments, both plucked and bowed. In fact, both the oldest and rarest instruments still prominent in Cambodia are represented here. Although many of these solo performances have a courtly air to them and might remind listeners of the court music of China or Japan, in fact, most of them were originally associated with weddings or ritual healing ceremonies. Some are actually quite buoyant while others are more contemplative. Three of the songs are from one of the wandering minstrels who are so popular throughout Cambodia. All present Western listeners with a rare opportunity to hear echoes of music from ten centuries ago, in a setting that is as accessible as it is exotic. the artists volume 1: The musicians who performed in Angkor Wat are all residents of the farms and villages surrounding the Angkor temple complex. Although being rice farmers and not professional musicians, the level of musical expertise is high. The reason, simply, is that music is a part of their everyday lives. volume 2:The musicians of the royal court ensemble are perhaps the finest professional musicians in Cambodia today. Often heard at large festivals and on the radio, the mahori orchestra are among the most popular musicians in Cambodia. Several of the members are virtuoso performers on various Cambodian flutes and double-reeds, and appear as soloists in The Music of Cambodia, Volume 3. volume 3:Yeum Sang is considered the finest wind virtuoso in Cambodia today. He plays no fewer than five instruments on this recording: two traditional Khmer reeds, two different Khmer oboes, including the nearly extinct sralai thom, and the Khmer flute. Prach Chhuon appears on The Music of Cambodia, Volume 3 as both singer and player of the Khmer lute. He is the most popular folk singer in the country; his style of song, involving satirical, often improvised lyrics about daily life and current events, is distant cousin to the medieval troubadour and to the folk singers of the American West. Sok Duch and Yon Khien are fiddlers who appear with the royal pinpeat and mahori ensembles of the royal court on the second volume of this series; both are respected soloists. Khan Heuan is the last surviving virtuoso of the kse diev, a strangely built string instrument that uses the player's chest as a resonator. With its almost percussive sound, the kse diev provides some of this volume's most striking moments.

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End Time: 2024-08-16T21:55:30.000Z

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