It's clear there was a lot of music in the royal courts of Angkor. Dancers are common in the temple bas reliefs and here and there you can find musicians in the carved scenes. But what about their instruments? One that can be seen is the Angkorian harp with its multiple strings. That instrument did not survive into modern times, but now a team of musicologists has brought it back to life as part of larger efforts to recreate the cultural life of the times.
The work was done by instrument maker Keo Sonan Kavei, a professor at the Royal University of Fine Arts, composer Him Sophy and French expert Patrick Kersalé. They aren't entirely sure how the harp should be played or what the originals sounded like, but we can thank them for filling in another piece of the puzzle of what it was to live in Angkor in those days.
Read this article in the Phnom Penh Post to learn more. And listen to the harp itself in this video on the newspaper's website. The performer is Snguon Kavei Sereyroth, the 13-year-old daughter of Professor Kavei.
The work was done by instrument maker Keo Sonan Kavei, a professor at the Royal University of Fine Arts, composer Him Sophy and French expert Patrick Kersalé. They aren't entirely sure how the harp should be played or what the originals sounded like, but we can thank them for filling in another piece of the puzzle of what it was to live in Angkor in those days.
Read this article in the Phnom Penh Post to learn more. And listen to the harp itself in this video on the newspaper's website. The performer is Snguon Kavei Sereyroth, the 13-year-old daughter of Professor Kavei.
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