Performers: Tibetan Monks
Culture of origin: Nepal
Instrumentation: Male chant/throat singing, membranophones, idiophones, aerophones
With each new week I find myself exploring cultures I'd never thought to explore! This week our task was to discuss culture in musical structure. While this is a religious chant, I think this video really demonstrates the inter-ensemble interaction. Before any music begins you can see the monks taking their places and looking at one person (I'm assuming this is one of the ensemble leaders). The music then begins. I noticed that anytime the chanting would begin the monks would stop playing and watch the chanter - I believe there were two, one on the right and one on the left. They seemed to be looking at the chanter for cues on when to play again and when to stop. Since this is obviously a religious prayer I noticed that the monks, at times, would bow repeatedly in prayer.
Prea,
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have seen a Tibetan meditation/chant. How interesting this is! When we think of structure, we think of binary form, sonata form and others utilized in western music. This piece clearly does not have that kind of structure, but as you stated, has its own structure. The music stops during the chanter and plays again when the chanter is finished. They have an individual or two to look at for musical cues. The structure is based on the religious prayer, and they play their idiophones at specific times together based on it. I am curious as to what the chanting is saying and if the musical response means something specific.
Hello Prea! Thank you for sharing this. I remember studying this culture and form of music in my music history classes during my undergrad. I was always intrigued with this culture and music, as it is so different from many other forms of music around the world. Although there is no set structure of form, they do have a sense of how the chant is organized, with help of the chanter who, like you mentioned, cues the performers. You made a great observation in noting that the monks would bow in prayer, indicating its religious connotation. Perhaps those bows represent a new section of music, giving more meaning to its structure in addition to the cues provided by the main chanter. Similar to Kate, I would be interested in knowing what their chants and responses mean are in specific reference to.
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice, Prea! I've never seen a Tibetan chant before. It can be so intriguing to study the structure of music outside our Western culture. The things we are used to such as a strict form usually read off of sheet music definitely vary depending on where the music is coming from. I think it is so cool to see how musicians from other cultures interact and create, whether it be in an entertainment or religious setting.
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