Customer Reviews

The Music of Cambodia, Volume 3: Solo Instrumental Music

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Music of Cambodia "Solo Instrumental Music" vol. 3 is a very beautifully recorded and mastered. This album contains some of the best and finest recordings of solo instrumental music from Cambodia. Most recordings tended to be poor, yet so far this just one that I have heard and it's really excellent stuff. The musicians are very talented. Some musicians like Lok Om Yeum Seng no less than five wind instruments. Lok Om Khan Heuan plays the now rare stick zither (sadiev), Lok Om Yon Khien and Lok Om Sok Duch are fiddlers, and Lok Om Prach Chhoun who plays the chapey (long neck lute) accompanied by his vocals is just one of the many musicians with great skills featured in these recordings. He is still popular today in Cambodia and occasionally features in the Khmer magazines about his works. The instruments featured in this album includes, pey-pork (clarinet like reed instrument), sralay toch (oboe with a high pitch), sralay thom (oboe with a low pitch), khloy (flute or duct), pey-or (folk shawm), tro khmer (three-stringed spiked fiddle), kse sadiev (stick zither) and chapey deng veng (long neck lute). All these instruments perform the pieces that were used in the recording and gave an out-standing performance. Yet the listener will get different tones and textures, styles and genres of each musical instruments. Many of the instruments performed solo give and unique and hauntingly beautiful timbre, sometimes invoking all emotions. Like in track 1 performed by the pey-pork (clarinet like reed instrument) was used in many Khmer documentaries when talking or showing of the Khmer genocide under the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79. Very touching piece, it brings all my emotions and moves me when I listen to this track. Great album to have and it can be used for meditations, relaxation or as background music for formal dinners to make things sound a little exotic or something a little different. I recommend this album for anyone who is into something a totally different and exotic for those music lovers who like a little of everything from around the world. Then is album should be in your collection of cds. But this just one third of the collection. Get the box set it's well it's value.

Why so many folk songs with vocals on an album titled MUSIC OF CAMBODIA:SOLO INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC?