SCHUROVSKY: Sunsern Phra Baramee (Thai Royal Anthem): THAI CLASSICAL: Burma Klong Yao; Kangkauw Kin Kluay; Lao Duang Duen; Lao Krathop Mai; Khmen Saiyoke : HARVEY Ayuthaya Fantasy : ARAMPHEE: Namta Saeng Tai: TRADITIONAL NORTHEASTERN THAI: Lai Ponglang; Nok Sai Bin Kam Thung: TRADITIONAL NORTHERN THAI: Long Mae Ping; Sao Mai: TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN THAI: Khaek Samse: POLACHAN: Duan Phen.
Hucky Eichelmann
CD: 51 mins 30 secs:
Book: 54 pages
AMI Music: AMI CD/Book Set: 2010 - 22
This latest book/CD set from Hucky is largely a collection of traditional melodies .The first piece is actually written in 1880 by Russian – born Pyotr Schurovsky and is the Royal Anthem. It is short and very stately and is in D with dropped 6th to D tuning. Burma Klong Yao is a Burmese Long Drum Dance and has plenty of percussive effects at the opening that aren’t as tricky as they might appear on the music. After 38 bars the real melody enters, set in Em with plenty of open 6th bass drones. However above that Hucky has placed quite an array of fast moving notes, excitingly done but you definitely need swift finger responses for this one. The effects keep returning at various points to remind you it’s based on a drum piece, and the whole piece is very effectively done. The Richard Harvey original is based on several traditional pieces from the country’s history (titles of which are marked as they appear on the score) and as a result he has written a lovely extended piece that deserves to be heard and played. Kangkauw Kin Kluay is a bouncy Classical Thai melody with a toe – tapping feel to it, that is very immediate and lots of fun, quite tricky in places to get your fingers round, but worth the effort. Namta Saeng Tai is presented in notation and tab, as it is for a guitar tuned to an E chord, making the 3rd 4th and 5th different to normal. The tab really does help. It is a sad little piece that has a lovely warm, haunting melody. Lai Ponglang is likewise in notation and tab as it is in DADGAD tuning, and although its beat is slow the amount of notes you have to play make this an advanced piece for the most part. Nok Sai Bin Kam Thung (Woodpecker flying across the field) is similarly in DADGAD , and also in Tab .This has a constant D drone underneath some hair-raisingly fast runs above, but lots of fun! Long Mae Ping reverts to normal; tuning without tab, and is very oriental in sound and is very haunting as a result, with some lovely harmony work in a piece that is not as difficult as some of the other pieces in this book. Khaek Samse has the lovely marking of ‘Bombastico’ and has a dropped 6th to D and at 172 beats a minute, moves at quite a fast pace and is very upbeat and confident and lots of fun. Lao Duang Duen is again tuned to an E chord so tab returns here to help the reader. The melodies are pentatonic and occasionally parts of it sound almost like modern blues in the harmonic structure, and is another lovely piece to play. The following Sao Mai (Spinning Silk) is similarly in the E chord tuning, with added tab and is mostly a tremolo piece with a haunting set of harmonies underneath a beautiful melody. Duan Phen ( Full Moon) (same tuning as the last piece , with tab) is a reflective song with an extended section in harmonics and a rather unusual ending , for the piece that spends it whole time in E major ends on a final chord of Eb Major! Lao Krathop Mai, another DADGAD tune with tab is a slowish dance that has its basis in the Bamboo Dance, a traditional form of dance and is another intermediate only piece that has a lovely haunting sound.The final Khmen Saiyoke reverts to only a dropped 6th D and has a beautiful melody over some lovely chordal harmonies and is not too difficult, and worth the effort it takes to get it sounding well under your fingers, as it is yet another melody that stays with you!
Yet again this collection, whether you play it yourself or listen to Hucky’s fine interpretations, is a beautiful reminder just how much of this area’s music, the huge majority of us simply don’t know, and whereas not a lot of this is easy to play, a few are intermediate after all, and the whole set is a wonderful collection to possess!
Chris Dumigan