Download Music Comparison: Cambodian (Khmer)

Cambodian (Khmer) Music
& Chinary Ung
Jessica Auxillos
Cambodia Demographics
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Population: 14,952,665 (July 2012
est.)
Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%,
Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other
4%
Religions: Buddhist (official) 96.4%,
Muslim 2.1%, other 1.3%,
unspecified 0.2%
Land Mass: 176, 520 sq. km (109.36
miles)- 2011 census
Languages: Khmer (official) 95%,
French, English
Cambodian Culture
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Thailand and India
Southeastern Asia,
bordering the Gulf of
Thailand, between
Thailand, Vietnam, and
Laos
The majority of
Cambodians follow
Buddhism which originates
in India
Khmer Music
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significant component in religious and traditional ceremonies such as
weddings or temple celebrations
consists of polyphonic stratification
pentatonic (five-tone) scale
built linearly, devoid of harmony in the western sense
Embellishment and ornamentation
music passed on from teacher to student from memory
Melody, rhythm, and texture is emphasized
Pinpeat
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one of the oldest Khmer music ensembles
most prominent type of music in
Cambodia
Classical repertory
accompaniment of court dance, masked
play, shadow play, and religious
ceremonies
repertoire known as phleng skor (drum
music) or phleng laim (dance music)
Each piece is associated with a particular
‘action’ with prescribed drum patterns
used to support an action on stage
Reamker
Instruments
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mostly string and percussion
roneat ek (xylophone)
roneat dek (high-pitched
metallophone)
kong tauch (high-pitched circular
frame gongs), kong thomm (lowpitched circular frame gongs)
sampho (small double-headed barrel
drum), skor thomm (large doubleheaded barrel drums)
kong chhing (small finger cymbals)
sralai (quadruple-reed oboe)
chamrieng (vocals)
Reamker
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Epic poem, masked play
Khmer adaptation of the Ramayana
(Indian epic narrative)
Pinpeat repertoire:phleng skor
(drum music) or phleng laim (dance
music)
each piece associated with a
particular action with prescribed
drum patterns used to support
action
can be seen most strongly in the
Reamker where the music supports
the story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JBVonZVmdA
Chinary Ung
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born in Cambodia
Cambodian-American Composer
studied at the University of Fine
Arts in Phnom Penh, E-flat clarinet
1964- came to the United States and
continued his clarinet studies at the
Manhattan School of Music
received PhD in 1974
Teachers: Chou Wen-Chung &
George Crumb
University teaching
“If East is yellow and West is
blue, then my music is green.”
Chinary Ung’s Music
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result of personal/cultural crisis-family
passed in the Khmer Genocide
devoted nearly a decade to studying and
performing Cambodian music
able to integrate this into his own
personal style
western instruments
music based on asian pentatonic scales
pitch bending and microtones similar to
the music of the east
heterophonic texture
prominent work: Spirals
Spiral VI
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Sixth work in a metaphorical spiral through a multiple series of manipulations
Shows the integration of cambodian and western elements
rapid series of intervals outlining a diminished seventh-C-sharp
this pattern is heard once more toward the end with a softer perfect fifth interval and a
cadence on G.
progression of pitches that function as harmonic spheres,outlines a diminished fifth
heterophonic texture
exotic sonorities –different from the traditional Western notation
Playing near or over the bridge, occasional note bending, and the use of high harmonic
glissandos are part of this exotic mix
constantly changing, expanding, or contracting, and has been described as having a “floating”
feeling
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/luminous-spirals-chamber-music-of-chinary-ung-mr0002870459
Similarities and Differences
Chinary Ung’s
Spiral VI
●flows more freely
●Uses western
instruments-mostly
wind
●Glissando
Both
●pentatonic (fivetone) scale
●Pitch bending
●Microtones
●Polyphonic
stratification/heteroph
-onic texture
Cambodian epic:
Reamker
●mostly percussion
●has a consistent
beat/rhythm
●used to support an
action on stage
Works Cited
Multi-Cultural Focus:
http://www.bmop.org/explore-bmop/musicians/chinary-ung
http://www.indexmundi.com/cambodia/demographics_profile.ht
http://asiasociety.org/arts/performing-arts/music/khmer-music
http://www.delsolquartet.com/?section=bio-group-3
http://jinja.apsara.org/2007/01/instrumental/
http://kingdomofwonderangkor.blogspot.com/2010/09/cambodia-traditional-music-instruments.html
http://www.umbc.edu/eol/cambodia/histcmus.htm
http://asiasociety.org/countries/traditions/reamker
http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_cambodia1.html
http://www.hmh.org/ed_Genocide_Cambodia.shtml
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/cambodia.html
http://musiced.about.com/od/othermusicgenres/a/Non-Western-Music.htm
Works Cited (cont.)
Western Composer:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3429900078.html
http://www.edition-peters.com/composer/Ung-Chinary
http://audaud.com/2012/04/music-of-chinary-ung-vol-3-spiral-xi-mother-and-child-spiral-ixmaha-sathukar-soloists-bridge/
http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/events/2012-2013events/february.htm
http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2012/09/5-questions-to-chinary-ung-composer/
http://www.newworldrecords.org/liner_notes/80619.pdf
Media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JBVonZVmdA
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/luminous-spirals-chamber-music-of-chinary-ungmr0002870459