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==Music and musicians== |
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Until the 1800s, the Burmese harp and its music were used exclusively for [[chamber music]] within the royal court, where it held status as the most prized of the court instruments.<ref name="si"/> Since then, it has become popular with the general population, but is still played only in more intimate chamber settings. The instrument was built under patronage from the [[Kingdom of Burma]].<ref name=GroveSaung>{{cite book |title= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |editor= Sadie Stanley |first= Muriel C. |last=Williamson |article= Saùng-gauk |page= 305}}</ref> After World War II, the State School of Fine Arts received newly made harps by Burmese craftsmen.<ref name=GroveSaung/> |
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The harp is usually accompanied by a singer, or more accurately, the singer is accompanied by the harp, with the harp adapting to the singer, who controls the time with a bell and clapper to indicate the music tempo. |
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The principal playing techniques in Mandalay include let-kat (လက်ကပ်), kaw (ကော့), zon-hswe-gyin (စုံဆွဲခြင်း), and tat (တပ်).<ref name=":1" /> |
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The Burmese classical music scale is tuned differently from the Western scale, and has been said to be derived from the descending cycle of fifths. The original tuning method extant from 1885 is called ''hnyin-lon,'' while musicians also use the auk-pyan, pale, and myin-zaing tuning methods.<ref name=":1" /> This is only approximately true, and traditionally, the harp is tuned differently for the four major different modes of Burmese classical music. Recently, due to the overriding influence of Western music, many harpists tune to the Western diatonic scale, since fewer and fewer singers feel fully comfortable with the traditional tunings. |
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Burmese music has not been written down with notation, only the text of the songs are recorded, and the rendition of the music has been passed down through the generations from teacher to student. The last and most well known harpist of the court was U Maung Maung Gyi (1855–1933), who was given a post at King [[Mindon Min|Min]]don's court at the young age of thirteen, and given the title "Dewa-Einda" ('Heavenly Musician;' {{IAST|devaindā}}), which now identifies him. He trained many musicians who became accomplished musicians in their own right. The lineage of today's harpists can be traced directly back to the Dewa-Einda and other musicians from the court of Mandalay. |
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With the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War|British annexation and the fall of court of Mandalay]], the Burmese court culture and traditions were still carried on for a while at the court of [[Saopha]]s of [[Hsipaw]], the Shan state closest to Mandalay culturally and geographically. The well-known harpists U Hpu Gyaung and Sao Mya Aye Kyi were from Hsipaw. |
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="180"> |
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File:A little lunchtime music (10845286724).jpg|A Burmese musician playing the ''saung'' |
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File:Saung Mandalay.jpg|Two female musicians play the ''saung'' at a performance in Mandalay. |
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File:Wyne Lay playing a Saung.JPG|Burmese singer [[Wyne Lay]] playing the ''saung'' during a performance |
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File:The Karen People of Burma800.jpg|A [[Karen people|Karen]]-style ''saung'', called ''t'nah'' or ''na den'' |
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File:Vyap Saung.jpg|Another instrument using ''saung'' in its name, a museum display of the ''byat saung'' or ''byauth caungg'' (ဗျပ်စောင်း), the Burmese lyre |
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</gallery> |
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==In film== |
==In film== |
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Revision as of 13:01, 28 August 2023
 Saùng-Gauk, 19th century | |
| String instrument | |
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| Classification | String instrument (plucked) |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 322
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| Related instruments | |
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The saung (Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung: IPA: [sáʊɰ̃ɡaʊʔ]; also known as the saung-gauk (စောင်းကောက်), Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma.[3] The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and is said to be the only surviving harp in Asia.[4][5]
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In film
In 1956, the Japanese film director Kon Ichikawa made an Oscar nominated anti-war film called The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto), set in Burma during World War II. The main character was a Japanese soldier who becomes a Buddhist monk due to the horrors of war. He plays the saung. However, the sound of the saung is removed from the soundtrack and replaced with an overdub of a Western classical pedal harp.[citation needed] Ichikawa also directed a remake of the film in 1985, which was also a major commercial and critical success.
See also
Notes
- ^ Sadie Stanley, ed. (1984). "T'na". The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 3. Macmillan. p. 601
- ^ Sadie Stanley, ed. (1984). "Na den". The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 2. Macmillan. p. 736
- ^ "Myanmar - Burmese harp (saung-gauk)". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ Miller, Terry E. and Sean Williams. The Garland handbook of Southeast Asian music. Routledge, 2008. ISBN 0-415-96075-4
- ^ However the site Harp History site mentions that a similar instrument, called (according to the site) the pin nam tao, whose picture is shown on the site, is played in Thailand today, the main difference being (according to the site) that the Burmese arched harp has 13 strings while the Thai arched harp has 15 strings. (In fact the picture purported to be that of the Burmese arched harp on the site shows an instrument with 16 strings and that of the purported Thai arched harp an instrument with 14 strings )
References
- Muriel C. Williamson (2000). The Burmese Harp: Its Classical Music, Tunings, and Modes. Northern Illinois University Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
External links
Audio
- The Burmese Saung Sample – Sample song clip of Burmese saung
General
- The Burmese Saung Gauk – includes a picture, information, and a sample song
- A Brief History of Saung – Saung History by Myanmar-Image
- Harp History site
- Burmese Harp – the post-1960s saùng-gauk at the University of Michigan Museum of Art