jianpuzhai yinyue
Cambodian music
music of Kampuchea
Cambodian music belongs to the same system as Thai and Laotian music. As early as the 1st century AD, in the early days of the founding of Funan Kingdom (located in what is now southern Cambodia), the famous Funan music was produced. Later it was included in the Ten Music Departments of the Tang Dynasty in China. During the Angkor Dynasty (802-1426), Cambodian music developed further. The reliefs of the Little Angkor Temple built in the 12th and 13th centuries are engraved with many images reflecting the musical performances of that time. It shows how court music was performed during the Angkor dynasty, and it shows that the instruments and bands at that time were very similar to modern times. Ancient Cambodian music was largely influenced by Indian and Javanese music. In the 14th century, Cambodian music was introduced to Thailand and became the basis of the country's Ayutthaya and Bangkok court music. By the 19th century, this music that had been developed in Thailand was spread back to the Phnom Penh court.
[Court Music of the Angkor Dynasty (Relief)]
Cambodia’s traditional instrumental music basically uses the seven-equal temperament scale, but the instruments are not tuned strictly according to it. The 4th tone in the scale is generally avoided in music, and the 7th tone rarely appears. Therefore, the music has an obvious pentatonic tendency, and its modal structure is also based on the pentatonic scale. The beats of instrumental music are mostly or. Its ensemble music is a branch structure, with a variety of instruments performing improvised variations on the main tune.
There are 5 types of traditional Cambodian bands: ① Pipat band, used for accompaniment of shadow puppet shows, dances and religious activities, consisting of xylophone, gong, 筚篥 (or recorder), double-sided drum, Composed of bass drum and small cymbals. ②Mahori band is mostly used as accompaniment to songs. Its main instruments include xylophone, iron panharp, bass erhu, sanxianhu, crocodile harp, erxianqin (a 2-string long-neck plucked string instrument), recorder and rhythmic percussion instruments. ③The Khmer band is mostly used in folk celebrations and witchcraft ceremonies. Its instruments include three-stringed harp, two-stringed harp, small pipes and drums. ④Funeral band, introduced from Malaysia; it includes 筚篥 and double-sided drums, etc. ⑤The gong and drum band is also used in folk funeral activities. Its musical instruments include gongs, hanging gongs, drums and bamboo poles.
The lyrics of folk songs mostly come from folk poetry, often containing allegorical content. They like to take the form of impromptu duets by young men and women, accompanied by erhu or crocodile piano. Wandering singers mostly sing narrative songs, accompanied by two-stringed harps.