Browse by Artist: PAING ENSEMBLE, NAI HTAW

Artist:	PAING ENSEMBLE, NAI HTAW
Title:	Mon Music of Burma
Label:	FIRE MUSEUM
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FM 002CD

"The rarely recorded traditional music of the Mon people is vanishing and endangered, highly developed, and barely known even to Asian traditional music connoisseurs. Historically the Mon were a dominant, highly cultured, and influential people in Burma more than a thousand years ago. There are several instruments peculiar to the Mon. Most recognizable is the Kyam (crocodile zither), a 3-string long zither with frets that are shaped like a crocodile. Another is the Batt Kine, a row of 14 or so pitched gongs that is upturned at both ends like a crescent. Also, there is the Mon violin, a 3-string fiddle with a western-like body played upright. This is incredible music with an unique character! Nai Htaw Paing, The leader of this ensemble, currently serves as an assistant lecturer at Yangon Cultural University. He started studying Mon traditional musical instruments, singing, and dance from his father in 1965. He regularly performs on Mon National Days, Mon State Day, Union Day, and other important receptions. He occasionally teaches the new generation of musicians but has difficulty finding time given the economic situation of the profession. He would like more Mon nationals to be aware of their own music, Myanmar traditional music and other world musics. He is passionate about rediscovering and preserving the endangered arts of the Mon culture. Recorded in Yangon, Burma by noted musicologist Rick Heizman (previous collections of his Burmese recordings have been released on Shanachie, Pan and Smithsonian), the Nai Htaw Paing Ensemble are recognized as masters of traditional Mon music. There is currently an effort by concerned Mon people to revive and preserve Mon culture, language, and identity, and this recording will help further this effort."

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