Post by gawn on Apr 5, 2011 14:21:51 GMT
Hi folks,
I hope this fits here...
Whereas I have sofar only used this forum as a source of information for me, I feel that it might be good to put in and contribute something from me. And while I am a novice to Chinese music, I can hopefully offer those who are interested a little insight into the music of a little known neighbour: a place named Myanmar, once called Burma. It's a place where I've lived and studied for almost three years, that I have written my PhD on and that is the home to the other half of my family – and has become a second home to me.
While the countries of the region are today separated by international boarders that have in modern times been often been relativelyimpermeable, in the (precolonial) past it was rather characterized by several political and cultural centres with slowly waning and often overlapping influences towards the margins. There has always been a lot of trade and exchange in the area. Additionally military conflicts between the centres where usually not about land (population density was thin), but about people, their working force, knowledge and skills. So conquerors relocated the population of conquered lands into their own heartland to strenghten their own workforce, army, and knowledge base. Kings acted as patrons of the arts and often called the artists and musicians from many a neighbouring kingdom to their own courts – sometimes by promising the highest rewards, sometimes using military force. In that way, muscial and other artistic traditions were always closely interconnected – both within Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Siam, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and so on) and between Southeast Asia and India and Southeast Asia and China.
And while the paradigm of the 'Indianization' of Southeast Asia has long given way to the recognition of the strong initiatives of local rulers and populations to appropriate Indian cultural practices and use them to enrich, rather than to replace their own local traditions, it is only now that scholars realize that they have not only done so with Indian cultural practices – including music and the arts – but also to a yet unknown extent with Chinese ones.
Myanmar classical music therefore is a decidedly localized, fascinating fusion of local traditions with elements originating from Siam (Thailand), India, China, Sri Lanka and beyond.
The Myanmar scales are said to be similar to the Chinese ones. The tradition incorporates genres of music that are clearly of Siamese origin, others might be related to genres common in other areas of the greater region. Still, it has an instrumentarium and flavour, that is decidedly local.
One can distinguish between music that is normally performed outdoors – characterized by the sound of the double reeded Hnè (probably somehow related to the Chinese Suona?) and percussions - and chamber music performed indoors, that is characterized by the sound of the Saung, a boat-like harp that has become a national icon and – to my knowledge lacks parallels in other countries.
Outdoor ensembles – often appearing at festivals and during dramatic performances include the Saing Waing, or Pat Waing, a circular structure with a large number of drums tuned to different pitches that alow the player actually to play melodies on them – a quite unique phenomenon, as drums are not normally what you would think of as a melody instrument. Then there are also racks with different kinds and sizes of gongs (kyi waing (gong circle) and maung saing, large gongs), resembling a bit the Indonesian gamelan ensembles.
Other instruments are the Pattala, a wood or bamboo xylophone, the Migyaung (a crocodile shaped cithern), an end blown flute (Palwe). In the past there has supposedly also been a small mouth organ resembling a mini-Sheng, but I have never seen one of these.
In the late 19th and early 20th century the violin, the mandolin and the piano where adapted to suit Myanmar musical practice. These are essentially Western instruments, but, I was told, occasionally tuned differently to suit Myanmar scales. Also the playing techniques are very different from what you see on Western classical players.
Some examples:
1 Chamber music ensemble: female singer, Saung (harp), and Palwe (endblown flute):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3XKms6F97Y
2 Saung (harp) and cymbals – one of my very favourites!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_7UtuSnP00
[3 i]Saung[/i] (harp) solo:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoUHOCPaNw
4 Hnè, Pat Waing and Gongs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS80l6Diqyc
5 Full ensemble as found during dramatic stage performances:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SO-ZUcDdqc
6 Full ensemble during a Nat Pwe (spirit ceremony, spirit mediums embodying spirits that can then be questioned receive and donations to assure their support):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cxJnMMwRMY
6 Pat Waing (melodius drum circle) solo:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8CGsJqAYYc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOmNmAZpd1A
7 Female voice and piano:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bJCoTIlaOQ
8 Female voice, piano (keyboard), Palwe, cymbals, percussion - a 'modern' 'Pop' version of no. 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2pg1JGstkE
Feel free to ask any questions... I'll try to find answers. If people are interested in this topic, I might later add more texts, images and examples.
I hope this fits here...
Whereas I have sofar only used this forum as a source of information for me, I feel that it might be good to put in and contribute something from me. And while I am a novice to Chinese music, I can hopefully offer those who are interested a little insight into the music of a little known neighbour: a place named Myanmar, once called Burma. It's a place where I've lived and studied for almost three years, that I have written my PhD on and that is the home to the other half of my family – and has become a second home to me.
While the countries of the region are today separated by international boarders that have in modern times been often been relativelyimpermeable, in the (precolonial) past it was rather characterized by several political and cultural centres with slowly waning and often overlapping influences towards the margins. There has always been a lot of trade and exchange in the area. Additionally military conflicts between the centres where usually not about land (population density was thin), but about people, their working force, knowledge and skills. So conquerors relocated the population of conquered lands into their own heartland to strenghten their own workforce, army, and knowledge base. Kings acted as patrons of the arts and often called the artists and musicians from many a neighbouring kingdom to their own courts – sometimes by promising the highest rewards, sometimes using military force. In that way, muscial and other artistic traditions were always closely interconnected – both within Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Siam, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and so on) and between Southeast Asia and India and Southeast Asia and China.
And while the paradigm of the 'Indianization' of Southeast Asia has long given way to the recognition of the strong initiatives of local rulers and populations to appropriate Indian cultural practices and use them to enrich, rather than to replace their own local traditions, it is only now that scholars realize that they have not only done so with Indian cultural practices – including music and the arts – but also to a yet unknown extent with Chinese ones.
Myanmar classical music therefore is a decidedly localized, fascinating fusion of local traditions with elements originating from Siam (Thailand), India, China, Sri Lanka and beyond.
The Myanmar scales are said to be similar to the Chinese ones. The tradition incorporates genres of music that are clearly of Siamese origin, others might be related to genres common in other areas of the greater region. Still, it has an instrumentarium and flavour, that is decidedly local.
One can distinguish between music that is normally performed outdoors – characterized by the sound of the double reeded Hnè (probably somehow related to the Chinese Suona?) and percussions - and chamber music performed indoors, that is characterized by the sound of the Saung, a boat-like harp that has become a national icon and – to my knowledge lacks parallels in other countries.
Outdoor ensembles – often appearing at festivals and during dramatic performances include the Saing Waing, or Pat Waing, a circular structure with a large number of drums tuned to different pitches that alow the player actually to play melodies on them – a quite unique phenomenon, as drums are not normally what you would think of as a melody instrument. Then there are also racks with different kinds and sizes of gongs (kyi waing (gong circle) and maung saing, large gongs), resembling a bit the Indonesian gamelan ensembles.
Other instruments are the Pattala, a wood or bamboo xylophone, the Migyaung (a crocodile shaped cithern), an end blown flute (Palwe). In the past there has supposedly also been a small mouth organ resembling a mini-Sheng, but I have never seen one of these.
In the late 19th and early 20th century the violin, the mandolin and the piano where adapted to suit Myanmar musical practice. These are essentially Western instruments, but, I was told, occasionally tuned differently to suit Myanmar scales. Also the playing techniques are very different from what you see on Western classical players.
Some examples:
1 Chamber music ensemble: female singer, Saung (harp), and Palwe (endblown flute):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3XKms6F97Y
2 Saung (harp) and cymbals – one of my very favourites!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_7UtuSnP00
[3 i]Saung[/i] (harp) solo:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoUHOCPaNw
4 Hnè, Pat Waing and Gongs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS80l6Diqyc
5 Full ensemble as found during dramatic stage performances:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SO-ZUcDdqc
6 Full ensemble during a Nat Pwe (spirit ceremony, spirit mediums embodying spirits that can then be questioned receive and donations to assure their support):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cxJnMMwRMY
6 Pat Waing (melodius drum circle) solo:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8CGsJqAYYc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOmNmAZpd1A
7 Female voice and piano:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bJCoTIlaOQ
8 Female voice, piano (keyboard), Palwe, cymbals, percussion - a 'modern' 'Pop' version of no. 2:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2pg1JGstkE
Feel free to ask any questions... I'll try to find answers. If people are interested in this topic, I might later add more texts, images and examples.
