rediscovered in Cambodia in the depths of rural Samrong district in
Oddor Meanchey province.
Cambodian cultural researcher, Young Yorn, 30, came across a folk
group that performs the musical style while in the northwest of the
Kingdom. He says the ancient music was different from other
traditional Cambodian music that he has studied.
Young Yorn says it is uncertain when the musical form began. What is
known is that the khen, an instrument made from long bamboo pipes, can
be seen on a carving on Bayon temple.
"So we can say that preun has existed in Cambodia for a very long
time," Young Yorn says.
The Samrong preun group has three performers, two of them sing and the
third plays the khen.
Mun Hai, a 56-year-old farmer, leads the group. He saw his
grandparents perform the music when he was a young boy. When he was 25
he learned the music from an older woman in his community. Taking up a
singing role in the three-member troupe he and two others have
performed in Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces.
"Some people call preun khen music and other people in our community
call it preun kantol uk which is in the language of the Suoy ethnic
minority. They call it that because there is only one musical
instrument in the performance," he says.
Soon after Mun Hai started performing preun both his bandmates died
and Mun Hai thought he was the only person who knew how to play the
ancient music. Later he teamed up with Sam Kong Kea, also a farmer who
could also perform in the style .
Sam Kong Kea, 52, lives about 20 kilometres from Mun Hai's home in
Tomnob Thmey village in Oddor Meanchey province. He learned preun from
his brother who was killed during Khmer Rouge regime.
"Preun was performed at ground-breaking ceremonies, Khmer New Year
celebrations, spiritual offering ceremonies or funerals, but I rarely
saw people performing it at wedding ceremonies," Sam Kong Kea says.
Sam Kong Kea said the younger generation was not interested in the
folk music. He tried to teach it to his sons because he was afraid the
rare music would be lost if he didn't.
The musical style also exists across the border in Thailand, but is
fast dying out.
Chaimongkol Chalermsukjitsri, president of the Language and Culture
Association of Surin said there were about five bands operating in
Surin but, he said, the style wouldn't last because ethnic Khmers
there did not speak in their mother tongue.
"In Surin, we have a problem with the language. The younger generation
does not try to speak their mother language. They just speak Thai. The
original language is the life of preun music. If people lose their own
language, their traditional music will vanish too," Caimongkol said.
"We all have to help to preserve it. We need to establish more preun
bands. We should bring masters of preun to pass on their knowledge to
the younger people before the old people die."
Ancient music rediscovered
Roth Meas
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012010453763/Lifestyle/ancient-music-rediscovered.html
