PRESS RELEASE01.10.2013

Vietnamese performers join the “Drums & Voices” Asian tour to celebrate 40th anniversary of ASEAN and Japan’s relations

In celebration of 40th Year of ASEAN – Japan Friendship and Cooperation as well as the Japan – Vietnam Friendship Year 2013, the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnamproudly presents a musical performance “Drums & Voices” on Thursday 17 & Friday 18Octoberin Hanoi.

“Drums & Voices” is a special music troupe exclusively dedicated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ASEAN & Japan and Vietnam & Japan relationships. It brings together 12 professional performers of traditional music from seven countries – Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Japan.

As we can see Dong Son drums in Vietnam and hypnotic chants in the Asian region, drums and voices are most primitive musical instruments in the region, having fascinated human beings over millenniums with their intrinsic power and energy.

“Drums & Voices” is thus highly anticipated, for all of us as human beings, to bring dynamic, powerful and fascinating music whose rhythm emotionally beats our heartstrings and whose melody strikes our right chords harmoniously.

This attractive musical collaboration is, however, impossible to be achieved in one day. The participating musicians spent 4 weeks in total both in Thailand (June – July 2013) and in Vietnam (August – September 2013) to learn each other about the character, cultural background, and creative vision of their fellow collaborators.

To assist the orchestration of their collaboration, a Japanese famous music composer/director, Michiru Oshimaalsojoins“Drums & Voices” as its music director. Equipped with awards for music composition for TV, animation and film, she smartly orchestrates the troupe to achieve “harmonious diversity” in their original music.

From Vietnam, two distinguished traditional music performers join the troupe. One is Merited Artist Mai Lien from Ba Pho Musical House, specializing in traditional percussions especially T’rung (a bamboo xylophone) & folk songs. The other is Merited Artist Minh Chi from Cheo Theatre Vietnam, specializing in Cheo and ethnic percussions.

Both Mai Lien and Minh Chi are highly celebrated for their superb skills and knowledge on Vietnamese traditional music and for their flexibility for international collaboration. Their participation made it possible for the “Drums & Voices” troupe to create uniquely arranged songs based on Vietnamese traditional music.

The other performers from the other countries include: Tsubasa Hori from Japan, who is a former member of the legendary Japanese drum troupe “Kodo” and herself is a composer/arranger, Academy Myanmar Pyi Kyauk Sein from Myanmar, who is a Pattalar (a Myanmar bamboo xylophone) player and an award winner for Best Music Award in Best Movie Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards 2012, to name but a few.

The “Drums & Voices” concerts will be held in all six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei) throughout October and November 2013, before performing at the Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Wednesday 18 December 2013.

The concerts in Vietnam will be its world-premiere at Au Co Art Center (8 Huynh Thuc Khang, Ba Dinh, Hanoi) on Thursday 17 & Friday 18 October, both starting at 8pm.Both concerts are free admission but you are required to get free advanced tickets which will be distributed at the Japan Foundation (27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi/TEL 04-3944-7419).

For inquiries and interviews with the musicians, please contact at:

Ms. Huong (04-3944-7419 ext: 106) / Mr. Yoshioka (0123-384-4138)

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam TEL 04 3944 7419

“Drums & Voices”

Date & Time:Thursday 17 & Friday 18 October 2013

[Open] 19:30 [Start] 20:00

Venue:Au Co Art Center

8 Huynh Thuc Khang, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

Free ticket distribution:

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

[Opening hours] 09:00 – 18:00 (no closed days)

Michiru Oshima

Music Director of “Drums & Voices”

Graduated from Department of Music Composition, Kunitachi College of Music. Began her career as a composer and arranger while in college, and has been involved in making music for movies, commercials, TV programs, animated features, and ambient music. Through her masterful manipulation of both orchestras and synthesizers, she has attracted attention from various sectors for creating grandiose, dramatic sounds and beautiful melodies. The awards she has received include the Mainichi Film Contest Award for Best Music (2012), Jackson Hole Film Festival Best Composer Award (2007/USA), and the 21st(1998), 24th (2001), 26th (2003), 27th (2004), 29th (2006) and 30th (2007) Japanese Academy Award for Music. Her representative works include the music for the movies such as Take the ‘A’ Train (2012), Memory of Tomorrow (2007), the music for the animated feature such as Fullmetal Alchemist (2005) to name but a few.

Musicians:

Mai LienMinh ChiChannaVuthaKyauk SeinBou thu Rain

VietnamVietnamCambodiaCambodiaMyanmarMyanmar

Tossaporn TassanaChris Shining StarSengthong BoutxadyPutthavong SakdaYusriHori Tsubasa

ThailandThailandLaosLaosBruneiJapan

Selected Drums and percussions used for the concert

Dan BauVietnam

A single-stringed musical instrument or monochord. It is played by plucking the steel string with one hand, and is distinctive in its use of harmonics. One end of the string is tied to a stem, which is attached perpendicularly to a sound box; the other hand is used to bend the stem, changing the string tension to alter the pitch of the sound. The sound produced is very quiet; today an amplifier is often used to augment the volume.

T’rung Vietnam

A bamboo xylophone. One distinctive feature of this instrument is its arrangement; bamboo pipes of differing lengths are suspended vertically rather than arranged from left to right. The far end of each pipe is beveled; this is both to tune the pipe and to enhance the sound produced. It is played by being struck with two hammers, one held in each hand. At times, both ends of a single hammer are used in order to strike two notes at once. The origins of the t'rung are as a traditional musical instrument of ethnic groups living in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.Today, however, it is played widely throughout the whole of Vietnam, having been remodelled by Ba Pho, the husband of Mai Lian, the performer who will be playing the t'rung in the Drums & Voices concerts.

Trong CaiVietnam

The name of this traditional bass drum literally means “great drum”. The body of the drum is made from jackfruit wood, while the drumhead is made from buffalo hide.

ChaiyamCambodia

A large drum used in folk performing arts. The body is made from jackfruit wood.

SamphoCambodia

A double-headed drum. The drumheads are made from buffalo or ox hide, tightened with string. The drum is tuned by applying a paste made from rice and ash to the center of the drumheads.

Thon (left), Rammana (right)Cambodia

The thon is a small, goblet-shaped drum which is placed on the knees and struck. Snakeskin or elephant-trunk is used for the drumhead, tightened with rattan string. The rammana is a shallow frame drum, to which the drumhead is tacked with pegs. These two drums are normally played by a single performer.

Hsaing WaingMyanmar

Also known as the pat waing. Ornately carved wooden frames are arranged in a circle, and a set of tuned drums, between 19 and 23 in total, are suspended inside. The player sits in the center of the frame and uses both hands to strike the drums, producing a melody. The drums are tuned by applying a paste made from rice and ash to the center of the drumheads.

Kyi Waing (left), Maung Hsaing (right)Myanmar

The kyi waing comprises a series of gongs arranged in a circular frame, and the maung hsaing of gongs in a rectangular frame.

Ranad EkThailand

A xylophone consisting of 21-22 bamboo or hardwood sound bars. Ranad is the general term for xylophones, of which there are various sizes; the ranad ek produces sounds in the higher range. The keyboard is suspended by cord onto a boat-shaped body, which functions as a resonating board.

Poengmang KhokThailand

Seven double-headed drums are vertically suspended on a semi-circular wooden frame, and are struck with the hands to produce sound.

Kong HangLaos

A long, slender drum with a single head. In most cases, the diameter of the drum face is around 20cm, while the length of the body may be more than a meter. The kong hang is often played in parades at festivals; the performer strikes it with the hand while dancing or marching.

Kong TumLaos

A medium-sized drum. There are two types; one with hide stretched over just one side, and the other with hide stretched over both sides. With the two-headed type, both drumheads are the same size. Normally, a kong tum will be suspended on a pole, and is played by two performers; they strike the drumheads with mallets as they walk. It is often part of parades at rocket festivals, where it forms a set with a buffalo horn flute.

RebanaBrunei

A frame drum played at religious ceremonies in Muslim-majority countries. The name rebana comes from the Arabic word robbana, meaning “our Lord”. The drumhead is made from goat hide. The origins of the drum are thought to lie in the Middle East.

Gendang LabikBrunei

Gendang means “drum”. The gendang labik is a double-headed drum; the player places the middle section of the drum, where the body thins slightly, on the knees and strikes the drumheads with the hands. The drumheads are tied to the body of the drum with rattan string; wedges are driven between the body and the string to tighten the heads.

TarBrunei

A single-headed drum with zils attached. The origins of this instrument lie in the Middle and Near East; it came to be played in South East Asia together with the introduction of Islam to the region. Tar ensembles accompany song and dance originating in the Middle and Near East.

WadaikoJapan

Drums were introduced in Japan in ancient times, and thereafter developed into various forms in the different regions of the country. The current style of performance was devised after World War II. The main differences with the traditional style, in which it was unusual for drummers to perform together, are that drums are brought together into a sort of ‘drum kit’, and that multiple players perform in an ensemble. Modern taiko music combines traditional instruments with a contemporary performance style.

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