"Wow one of the best cambodian cd out there it has ever little detail of cambodian classical and folk music. I my self like it because it has one of the best singer in in em thay there are more to know about this cd so if you want to find out buy it"
A Wonderful Experience in the Music of Cambodia
Jesse Calcat | Detroit, MI | 06/24/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a wonderful CD. I will forever cherish it. I must have listened to this CD thousands of times, but it never gets old. The musicianship on this album is top-notch. I know that Kean's already done a great overview of the first few tracks, but I'll give you one anyway. Track one, Breu Peyney, is beautiful yet sad; a female vocalist accompanied by the chapey(Cambodian bass banjo), singing about the hardships of the Khmer Rouge era. Leng Suan is next, an energetic song that is part of the repetoire of the yikhe theatre. Drums and fiddle provide the accompaniment, and the vocals alternate from chorus to a single male. The lyrics speak of a girl picking flowers, used as metaphors for her desire. Track 3, Homrong, is one of my favorites in all the Khmer music i've heard. In this song, the phleng khmer orchestra(consisting of a folk fiddle, a low-pitched folk oboe, a chapey, a one-stringed instrument called a sadew, and an occasional vocalist),through its singer, gives praise to the master musicians, and asks for blessings from the gods. It gives off a very haunting mood, and this ensemble has a very rural flavor. Listening to track three(and seven), you can easily imagine yourself walking through the jungles of SE Asia and stumbling into a remote village during some sort of festivities. Track four, Robaim Tep Monorom, is from the repetoire of the pinpeat orchestra, consisting of xylophones, gongs, drums, occasional vocals, and an oboe as the orchestra's leader. This track has a lot of both beauty and energy. After the singers have finished their solos in the front-middle or the piece, the orchestra takes off with a very large oboe solo with very exotic drum patterns in the background. Track five, Norkor Reach, is another modern composition for chapey and voice, like track one. The lyrics also refer to the Khmer Rouge regime era. Track six, Luok Phsar, is another yikhe theater piece. This track features the famous Em Theay, a Khmer master singer who survived the Khmer Rouge horrors. The song's lyrics speak of how girls ought to stay inside and out of the sun, and tend to their beauty. Track seven, Tropeangpeay, is a beautiful, lively piece of the phleng khmer ensemble(see track three). The endearingly innocent lyrics speak of a scene of a boy and a girl(the girl being Tropeanpeay) helping each other bathe in a pool. The piece has a driving rhythm that accelerates towards the end, and keeps the listener interested. Track eight, Preah Chinnavong, is another pinpeat track with a more relaxed pace than track four, and a very majestic musical color. The lyrics speak of a story from an ancient Khmer legend. Track nine, Bohrapha, is PURE ENERGY. I'm not Khmer, so at first, the song's very non-western style and vocals took a little getting used to, but I was hooked in no time. The instruments used are a large, driving bass drum and a folk fiddle. The singing is high-paced and very fun, alternating between two main male singers and a chorus of what sounds like men, women, and possibly children. The drumbeats in this song, and also in a lot of Cambodian music, are almost identical to basic rock beats in Western pop music(All my American friends that don't like ethnic music that've heard such tracks also end up loving them). This song is absolutely addictive...everyone involved in the song is audibly having fun and various people make lots of festive, high-pitched trilling noises(think Mexico)in the background. The two main singers, at times, almost sound like they're holding back laughs. i can hear them in my mind's ear...."UHHHH! khon yeul pi neh aiyeu lang long trawsong! NGAAAA!" These people sound totally joyous, and the song invigorates and refreshes you down to your soul. Once track nine has you going about 120mph, it's time to go down to about 15mph for track ten. Track ten, Mohori Bompay, is a beautiful female vocal; a slow, short lullaby for a child. The singer, speaking as a mother, tells her child to use the mother as a pillow to rest his/her head. This CD is truly a jewel, and a must for anyone who likes Asian music. I'd also especially reccomend it to anyone that is thinking about getting a CD of music from the Thailand-Laos-Cambodia area(a huge percentage of traditional/classical music in Thailand and Laos is of Cambodian origin). This is a great introduction to many of the styles of this region. I only wish that this CD was a little longer...these musicians are wonderful and it is tragic that so little Cambodian music leaves the country's borders...but as I've said, the CD is a wonderful collection of Cambodians music. I rank it as my runner-up favorite Cambodian CD, along with Echoes from the Palace, a pinpeat CD by the Samang Sam Ensemble(and also tragically not available from seemingly any music/multimedia store...)....THIS CD ROCKS!! BUY IT! (~_~)"
Interesting
Kean Chhay Chang | 11/09/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Homrong album is very interesting because it contains a variety of recordings of different types on music in Cambodia. There is the very well know pin-peat orchestra that accompanies Royal Classical Cambodian Dance, shadow theatre, masked theatre and other religious and monastic functions. In this recording Em Theay appears twice singing different songs. She is the master of classical dance songs. Thus implying that she was just one of the survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. However she has managed to keep alive for so long, thus she is trying to rebuild from what the Khmer Rouge have have destroyed. Also included in this ablum are recording of pleng khmer (traditional wedding music) which has a hazzy atmosphere about it's mysterious style and composition. Plus also the well known Yikhe theatre with their songs about nature and celebrating human life. Overall this album helps to show the variety of Khmer music from court music to folk music which is often assoicated with every day life unlike court music which is played for special functions and other purposes. This ablum is unique displaying the different kinds of music in Cambodia, showing the orchestras and how different they are from another. This recording also helps to celebrate the revival of Khmer music which once again is being performed after so many years of war therefore manages it to live on through the musicians and singers who had managed to survive the nightmare of the Killing Fields. Therefore this album is unique in it's own flavour and style."
Great stuff (contents) and great cd
Kean Chhay Chang | Vic, Australia | 10/26/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The album homrong is a very traditional Cambodian cd portraying from classical Cambodian music which would be associated with court dance right through to folk music often associated with the supernatural and other traditions by the common people of Cambodia. This cd presents in many aspects a variety of different kinds of music that are performed on different occasions. From the well known pin-peat orchestra accompanying classical court dances and featuring the voice of Em Theay who was just one of the few survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime through to the Phleng Khmer orchestra which is considered the most traditional and would be performed as part of traditional Khmer wedding ceremonies. The yikhe theatre much similar to likay theatre of neighbouring Thailand as well a as a few other new creations that were created by the National Dance Company, implying that some new styles are usually recreated from older styles of music giving them a new sense of life in many terms a kind of regeneration. This cd is a special and yet different one from all those that I have heard in a long time, showing a different variety of orchestras. Track one was a very touching and sad piece the song accompanied by a long neck lute called a chapey, describing about the Khmer Rouge regime and how the Khmer people suffered. In many ways it's quite nostalgic, a sense of time being lost and all other emotions brought on with the atmosphere and style of the music. Track two is a piece from the yikhe theatre and is an extract from the story called Neang Khar-Khey "The Unfaithful Woman" and describes the first meeting between her and the king in the royal garden. The music is very different and the style is quite lively with the loud beating of the drums, folk fiddle and vocals a typical of the yikhe style of singing. Containing extra zest and full of twists in the drumming pattern. Track three a traditional wedding piece performed by the Phleng Khmer orchestra, this style is very haunting and different for sure with the buzzing of the folk shawm, the male vocals paying homage and greeting the gods and spirits accompanied by other instruments in the orchestra. Track four is the traditional Pin-Peat orchestra, this piece is used to accompany a classical dance called Tep-Monorom "Dance of the gods and goddess of happiness". Overall this cd is great, something a little different for sure... from the folk styles which are quite lively to more stately and refined court orchestras. Full of twists and something different... great cd to have. However I am a little disappointed that they could have recorded more music in this cd though because it's pretty short by traditional Khmer music standards. Usually the time and duration of a cd produced with recording of Cambodian music they can run on for about more than 50 minutes or about 60 minutes, like other cds that I have heard. This cd is very beautiful and timeless in it's own style and many aspects showing that Khmer culture is making a come back after three decades of destruction, created by a new regime of the Khmer Rouge... If you would like to hear or know more buy the cd, it also contains information and notes regarding each track and some musical styles and also the artist who help create this cd... Great stuff..."