CHOTIKUL: Gamgah Gamgah: GASTON: Two Fragments from Chao Phya Concerto; Kaek Chao Senn : NGAI: The Tears of Master Shen Yen Lu: MENDOZA DE LEON: Kapilas na Giting : HUNTRAKUL: Prelude et Movements des Cordes: SOTHIBANDHU: I-Sarn:
Sheet Music: 57 pages
CD: 40 mins 17 secs: AMI CD 2003 - 09
AMI Publishing. https://amithailand.com/EN/
Firstly, the sheet music and the CD can be bought separately or as in this case, both together. The first thing is to say that this is virtuoso music in every respect, as nothing is for even the intermediate player. Moreover the music is complex and although one does find some ‘oriental’ style within, the huge majority of this is far and away modern (but never atonal) , and if you might expect to know any of these works or their composers, it is doubtful that you will unless you have studied this area’s serious music.
The book’s Preface is in English and Thai, so for the uninitiated, the meaning, to a certain extent, behind the pieces is explained. The opening Gamgah Gamgah , the title piece for the CD and the book is apparently Northeastern Thai colloquial for Clumsy but Cute .The tuning for the 2nd string is moved down to an A for this piece , and it attempts to mix jazz improvisation with the music for the traditional Northeastern instrument , the Sueng which is a plucked fretted lute. The two fragments from Chao Phya Concerto by Bruce Gaston, opens with a slow glissando driven melody, to mimic the sound made by a Pia, another traditional instrument , now sadly in decline in Thailand, followed almost immediately by a fast paced exciting section that really tests the technique. The Tears of Master Shen Yen Lu is by comparisons much more sedate and thoughtful, and immediately is more the sound we, the uninitiated might expect from an oriental piece of music. Having said that it has depth and emotional significance and is also one of the easier pieces to get under your fingers. Phillipine – born Bayani Mendoza de Leon’s Kapilas na Giting ( A piece of Valor) has great variety and ranges from a very energetic opening set with a dropped D 6th to facilitate some loud and well accented Dm chords before becoming an Andante poco Allegretto with a more emotive three –voiced setting. This then becomes more animated before returning to the opening idea and an exciting coda. Dnu Huntrakul’s Prelude et Movement des Cordes is a fascinating mix of both the Eastern and the Western , with elements of Indian Raga at the opening and a faster Allegretto section of more than five closely printed pages full of semi – quavers that has many reminders of the Classical Western harmonies in it . I –Sarn has that Pentatonic melody at the opening, and is essentially a set of variations from there, leading to a Finale marked Very Fast with a suitably upbeat coda. The final work, is another by Bruce Gaston, and was arranged for classical guitar by him, from an old theme and has been revised by Hucky for this set.
Altogether this set of pieces has a lot to offer the guitarist, as they are very individual, quite unusual at times and yet great to get your fingers around, providing your technique is up to it. Everything has either been arranged by Hucky, or if an original guitar work, edited by him. The CD is brilliantly played, very clear and bright and a great companion to the book, and I can definitely recommend it, if you want to play and hear something completely different from what you might normally be playing.
Chris Dumigan