White Elephants & Golden Ducks: Enchanting Musical Treasures from Burma (1997)
16 tracks, 72 minutes
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To be honest, the album that I was actually intending to write about today was Birmanie: Musique d’Art released on Ocora in 1981, but I couldn’t find anywhere for you to listen to it or download it on the internet, so I thought I’d give you this one instead. Maybe Ocora will rerelease that compilation at some point as they have been doing with a lot of their recordings, but either way, if you get a chance to listen to it, it’s a really nice set of all different classical music traditions from Burma, so definitely give that a go. But for now, this is something (ever so slightly) different…
Where the Ocora release deals with only the strictest definitions of Burmese classical music, played on all traditional instruments and in traditional ensembles such as the hsaing waing orchestra, White Elephants & Golden Ducks presents a much more contemporary view of that art music culture. The traditional instruments are still there to be enjoyed in all their glory: the pat waing tuned drums are always a scintillating sound, and the kyey (metallophones similar to an Indonesian gamelan), saung harp, pattala xylophone, hne shawm and palwei flute all play important roles on this album. That’s not all, though – there’s also a variety of western instruments showcased throughout the album, all lent interesting twists in the context of the Burmese classical style.
Although there is violin here, played by U Tin Yi, with its similarities to the traditional Burmese fiddles, it is perhaps surprising that it is not the instrument that lends itself to the styles on show in the most natural way. That would instead be the acoustic slide guitar, played here by U Ohn Lwin. The instrument’s guttural tones put it in the same aural region as the saung, and it is used in a similar way, but its ability to slide, vibrato and bend notes lend the slide guitar its very own place within the style, and it feels completely at home. The instrument that is a real wildcard here, though, is the piano of U Yee Nwe. The way he plays accentuates its status as a percussion instrument, using it in much the same way as the pattala and the pat waing, with all the same sorts of ornaments. However, it has a really uncanny ring to it. Unlike the violin or slide guitar, the piano is locked into playing in western-style tuning of equal temperament, which is at odds with the Burmese way of tuning. In playing the pieces to the closest approximation of the Burmese notes, though, it introduces all sorts of unusual lopsided melodies and harmonies, often with lots of clashing, close together notes played at the same time. The effect is not unpleasant, but it’s played in such a singular way that whether you’re coming at it with western ears or even off the back of listening to lots of Burmese music, it is a really odd sound. Give yourself a moment to adjust and it will all become clear.
The use of instruments in this way is fun, but what I really love about Burmese classical music is that it is so unique. Different elements of the pieces can bring to mind art music from surrounding cultures – Indian sometimes, Chinese others, Thai and even Indonesian resonate in there too – but the way they are pieced together is heard nowhere else. It’s the same thing that I’ve talked about in regards to music all around the world: the way Burmese music is constructed could only ever have occurred in Burma, reflecting perfectly its cultural geography in relation to its neighbours. And obviously it’s true of all of those neighbouring cultures as well, which would not sound the same if it weren’t for Burmese music through the ages. With enough research, I’m sure you could build up a whole global map of music in this way, tracing lines of compounding influence from one group of people to the next to create magical chains thousands of miles long, and steeped in just as many years of history.
If you have never listened to Burmese classical music before (aside from the solo saung of Hlaing Win Maung, which you obviously listened to and loved back in May when I wrote about it here), both White Elephants & Golden Ducks and, if you can find it, Birmanie: Musique d’Art are perfect entry points. There’s lots to recognise in there, but you won’t have heard anything like it before.
