Somewhere during the 32nd SEA Games this year, Cambodian people welcomed tourists with the typical sounds of their country.
A Pinpeat Orchestra in Cambodia
A Mahori orchestra performs for tourists in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
It is ancient sounds from the ancient Khmer Empire, combined with Indian, Chinese and primitive indigenous tribal music, including Western music .
In other words, Cambodian music today, besides its own identity, also has a synthesis of musical elements from around the world .
Folk and classical music
According to Wikipedia, in its early days, Cambodian music was heavily influenced by ancient forms as well as Hindu musical forms. The country's classical music falls into three main categories: pinpeat, phleng kar and mahori, all of which are associated with religious dances, most of which depict ancient stories and myths, which are very popular in Cambodian culture.
Pinpeat is an orchestra or band that performs court and temple ceremonial music. The name pinpeat comes from two instruments: pin (harp) and vadya/peat. If it is a royal orchestra, pinpeat will consist of about 9 or 10 instruments, mainly wind and percussion (including some xylophones and drums). This orchestra is similar to the Lao pinphat and the Thai piphat. Pinpeat usually plays classical musical acts, both male (Lokhon Khol) and female (Apsara), accompanied by court dances, masked plays, shadow plays and religious ceremonies.
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Depending on the scale, a pinpeat ensemble usually includes the following instruments: roneat (xylophones); roneat ek (a high-pitched bamboo xylophone); roneat thung (a lower-pitched xylophone than the roneat ek); roneat (metallophones); roneat dek; roneat thong and drums: skor thom (2 large drums, similar to taiko drums, played with drumsticks) and samphor (a double-headed drum played by hand); chhing (chhap) - a type of finger cymbal; krap (a wooden clamp, rarely used today). Wind instruments include the sralai flute (a four-way reed set); sralai thom flute (consisting of 4 large reeds); sralai toch flute (4 small reeds); khloy bamboo flute - a type of bamboo flute (used instead of the sralai in the past).
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Besides the religious and “god-worshiping” pinpeat music, there is also the royal court entertainment music, mahori, a traditional form of music of the Cambodian, Siamese and Laotian courts. This orchestra includes the roneat ek (xylophone), roneat thong (metallophone), khloy flute, chakhe (krapeu); bowed string instruments such as tro ou, tro chhé, tro sor; skor romonea drum and chhing cymbals…
Another type of music called Arak (araak, areak, aareak), intended for religious and healing purposes, comes from ancient Cambodian “animistic beliefs”. Traditionally, this music was used to “drive away illness” and its main instruments were flutes, drums, lutes, chapei and kse diev.
Modern Cambodian Music
Romvong - a circular dance of men and women, combining graceful hand movements and simple footwork
It was pop-rock music that began in the late 1950s with imported French and Latin American pop records that became popular in the country. This was followed by Western rock and roll and soul music combined with Cambodian vocal techniques.
In general, Cambodian music today is largely reflected in the background music in the recent 32nd SEA Games Opening Ceremony, showing a combination of classical and modern music, including crooner-style music along with dance music, represented by rhythms such as romvong - a circular dance of men and women, combining graceful hand movements and simple footwork, followed by rom kbach, a traditional, popular Cambodian dance.
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