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Ros Serey Sothea was a Cambodian singer. She was active during the final years of the First Kingdom of Cambodia and into the Khmer Republic period. She sang in a variety of genres; romantic ballads emerged as her most popular works. Despite a relatively brief career she is credited with singing hundreds of songs. She also ventured into acting, starring in a few films. Details of her life are relatively scarce. She disappeared during the Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s but the circumstances of her fate remain a mystery. Norodom Sihanouk granted Sothea the honorary title "Queen with the Golden Voice."
Pen Ran, also commonly known as Pan Ron in some Romanized sources intended for English-speaking audiences, was a Cambodian singer and songwriter who was at the height of her popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s. Known particularly for her western rock and soul influences, flirtatious dancing, and risque lyrics, Pen Ran has been described by the New York Times as a "worldly, wise-cracking foil" to the more restrained Cambodian pop singers of her era. She disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide and her fate is unknown.
Throughout Cambodia's long history, religion has been a major source of cultural inspiration. Over nearly two millennia, Cambodians have developed a unique Cambodian culture and belief system from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Cambodia's unparalleled achievements in art, architectures, music, and dance from the 9th and 14th century have had a great influence on many neighboring kingdoms, namely Thailand and Laos. The effect of Khmer culture can still be seen today in those countries, as they share many close characteristics with current-day Cambodia.
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is a classical Khmer dance renowned for its graceful hand movements and luxurious costumes. The ballet has been closely associated with the Khmer court for over a thousand years and would traditionally accompany various royal ceremonies, including coronations, weddings, funerals, and Khmer holidays. The ballet's repertoire encompasses various ancient Khmer legends.
Loung Ung is a Cambodian-American human-rights activist, lecturer and national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World from 1997 to 2003. She has served in the same capacity for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which is affiliated with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
The dance and theatre of Laos is the primary dramatic art form of Laos' majority ethnic group, the Lao people. It is shared with the ethnic Lao that inhabit the Isan region of Thailand as well. There are mainly two types of dances, the classical dances performed in the royal courts and the folk dances now associated with morlam.
The tro is Cambodia's traditional spike fiddle, a bowed string instrument that is held and played vertically. Spike fiddles have a handle that passes through the resonator, often forming a spike, on the bottom side where it emerges. The family is similar or distantly related to the Chinese erhu or huqin. The instruments have a soundbox at the bottom of the stick, covered with leather or snake skin. Strings run from pegs at the top of the stick and secured at the bottom, running across the soundbox. The larger the soundbox, the lower the pitch range. Instruments in this family include the two-stringed tro ou, tro sau thom, tro sau toch and tro che, as well as the three-stringed tro Khmer spike fiddle. The two-stringed tros are tuned in a fifth, while the three-stringed tro Khmer is tuned in fourths. The tros, with the exception of the tro Khmer, are strung so that the bowstring is permanently placed between the two stings. When the musician plays, the placement of the bow causes the strings to be played at once, one from below and one from above. In contrast, western fiddles are played with the bow pushing on each string from the outside, as is also the case with the tro khmer.
Yike is a prominent form of Cambodian musical theater, along with Bassac theater and Niyeai. "Lakhon Yike" incorporates singing and dancing and "an ensemble of both traditional and modern instruments."
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The krap is a Southeast Asian musical instrument used in Cambodia and Thai for percussion.
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Touch Sunnix or "Touch Sreynich, Touch Sunnich" is a singer from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She began singing at an early age. Her work embodies key themes in Cambodian culture such as folk stories, traditional Cambodian dancing, freedom of expression and democracy in the lyrics of her songs.
The pin is a Cambodian arched harp, one of the most historically important instruments in Cambodian music. The instrument went extinct c. 16th century, and is now being restored in modern times. Its historical importance is emphasized by the very name for Cambodian classical music, pinpeat. After the pin was no longer being used, Cambodians continued to use the instrument's name for classical music into the present era. When the pin was no longer being used, the tonal range of other instruments was expanded, possibly to compensate. Burmese saung gauk and roneats had more keys for the chromatic scale and the number of gongs in the kong von thom and kong toch "more than doubled in number since the musician depicted on the Angkorian carvings."
Laura Tevary Mam is a Cambodian-American artist, songwriter, music producer, and businesswoman. She is known for being a member of the Cambodian Original Music Movement and is the founder and CEO of Baramey Productions. Mam is Cambodia's first independent popstar to gain nationwide recognition for original music and wins major brand ambassadorships. Mam's success inspired her to co-found Baramey Production, an artist management and music production company with a shared resource model and a vision to make original music mainstream in Cambodia.
Voan Savay is a Cambodian dancer and director of performing arts, considered as "the last Apsara of Cambodia" and a "legendary former prima ballerina of the Cambodian Royal Ballet".
References
- ↑ CCTV
- ↑ "Cambodian Hailed as National Superstar". The Cambodian Daily. December 5, 1997. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
- ↑ Srok Khme
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