THAILAND – THAÏLANDE Department of Fine Arts Bangkok – 33PIX-102

THAILAND – THAÏLANDE
Department of Fine Arts Bangkok – 33PIX-102, released in 1962 (LP)

I am delighted to share a second fascinating album of authentic, time-honored Thai classical music from the essential collection of the Department of Fine Arts, released between the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Department of Fine Arts (Krom Sinlapakon), which operates under the Ministry of Culture, works to safeguard and promote the country's rich cultural heritage.

This album showcases three piphat ensembles (A1, B1, B3), which provide the vibrant accompaniment for Thai classical music, traditional masked dance dramas, dances, shadow puppet theater, and various ceremonies and rituals. First created during the Sukhothai era (13th–15th centuries), piphat ensembles include quadruple-reed pi nai oboes, ranat xylophones, tuned khong wong gongs, various barrel drums, and ching hand cymbals. The Pi Phat Mai Nuam Ensemble here (B3) also features vocals.

In contrast, tracks A2 and B2 present solo, two-string bowed saw u fiddles. Their deep, mellow tones offer a minimalist counterpoint to the dense sound of the ensembles.

 

J'ai le plaisir de vous présenter un deuxième album de musique classique thaïlandaise authentique, puisé dans la collection essentielle du Department of Fine Arts publiée entre la fin des années 1950 et le début des années 1960. Agissant sous l'égide du Ministère de la Culture, le Department of Fine Arts (Krom Sinlapakon) œuvre à la sauvegarde et à la promotion du riche patrimoine culturel de la Thaïlande.

 

Cet album présente trois ensembles de piphats (A1, B1, B3) qui accompagnent la musique classique thaïlandaise, les spectacles de théàtre masqué, les danses, le théâtre d'ombres chinoises, ainsi que divers cérémonies et rituels. Originaires de l'époque de Sukhothai (XIIIe-XVe siècles), ces ensembles de piphats comprennent notamment des hautbois pi nai à quatre anches, des xylophones ranat, des gongs khong wong, divers tambours et des cymbales à main ching. L'ensemble Pi Phat Mai Nuam (B3) comporte également une voix.

Les pistes A2 et B2 présentent des vièles saw u à archet à deux cordes jouées en solo. Leurs sonorités profondes et douces offrent un contrepoint minimaliste aux ensembles plus denses.

A1 – Veera Chai Yak (The War Dance of the Demons)

Pi Phat Yai Ensemble of the Fine Arts Department.

A2 – Khêk Mon
Bowed two-stringed saw u solo by Luang Pairaw Siang Waw.

B1 – Veera Chai Ling (The War Dance of the Monkey Warrior) 
Pi Phat Khrueng Yai Ensemble of the Fine Arts Department.

B2 – Phya Soke (lament)
Saw u solo by Luang Pairaw Siang Waw.

B3 – Lao Kum Hawm (from northeastern Thailand)
Pi Phat Mai Nuam Ensemble of the Fine Arts Department,
Vocals by Pravej Kumut (1923-1999).

Download:

Flac

MP3

Our other classical Thai music posts:

Chui Chai – Department of Fine Arts Bangkok – 0008 here

Track A8 in Musik in Asien – BM 30 SL 5107 here

Photographs below are from The House on the Klong: The Bangkok Home and Asian Art Collection of James Thompson by William Warren & Brian Blake, privately published, 1968, and The Art of East Asia by Gabriele Fahr-Becker, Koneman, 1999:

Hindu Harihara bronze sculpture, Sokothai style.

Harihara figures convey the philosophical idea that 

Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) are different  

aspects of the same ultimate reality (Brahman).

Buddha statue in the ruins of the Wat Mahathat (Monastery of the Great Relic) complex, completed in 1345, Sokothai, Thailand.

The blending of Hindu and Buddhist traditions have shaped

Thai culture over centuries:

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