At the swift flick of the baton, the sound of vibrating brass, woodwind instruments and percussion rose and shook audiences with the rhythmic vivacity of marching music. The 37 hand-picked musicians dressed in their separate uniforms -- red for the Royal Thai Army Military Band, dark blue for the Royal Thai Navy Band and maroon for the Royal Thai Police Band -- performed under the banner of the Siam Symphonic Band in Germany earlier this month.
The ensemble performed concerts that featured original compositions of Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand of Nagor Svarga (1881-1944), well-known as Father of Western-style Thai Music and Royal Maestro of Traditional Thai Music.
Prince Paribatra, son of King Rama V, attended the Prussian Military Academy in his youth. Serving in the German army, the prince was bestowed several honours and distinctions, including Kaiser Wilhelm II's special commendation. He later returned to Siam not only with military knowledge, but also musical inspiration -- both in playing instruments and composition, the skills he acquired secretly in his spare time. Over the prince's lifetime, he has composed more than 70 musical pieces.
Celebrating Prince Paribatra's 135th birth anniversary this year, the Siam Symphonic Band -- formed under the royal initiation of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn -- took the prince's music back to where it all began in Germany, touring four cities and five venues across the country. The music tour was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chumbhot-Pantip Foundation.
"We wanted to show Germans what Thai people have learnt from them, that the knowledge we received has created something culturally tremendous for the past century in our country, as well as show how we've preserved and push such knowledge further," said project adviser Emeritus Prof Dr Poonpit Amatyakul, a renowned musicologist.
Throughout their concerts, the band always started with Paribatra March, one of the prince's most popular compositions, composed during King Vajiravudh's reign (Rama VI) for the navy band concerts. Other of the prince's compositions and rearrangements performed were Damrong March, Soke and Krob Jakrawal.
"The charm of the prince's music lies in its wit, the unexpected twists from his playfulness that is ever lively and interesting. No Thai in his generation has ever composed a march as vigorous as he did. The prince was well beyond his own time," said Prof Dr Poonpit.
Aside from the prince's music, the band also included Royal Guards March, which was composed by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1953, as well as the Siamesische Wachtparade (Siamese Patrol March) -- a piece composed by German composer Paul Lincke in honour of King Chulalongkorn.
But it was not only the music ensemble that the crowd got to witness. The performances of traditional numbers like Bart Sakuni and Satt Chatri also featured Thai traditional dancers from the Fine Arts Department. Their movements, costumes and musicianship were a crowd pleaser.
The band's first performance in Germany was at the Nymphenburg Palace, then later at the Aumeister beer garden in Munich. These two very different settings provided a stark contrast for the performance's backdrop.
In the palace grounds, the concert felt formal. But, coming into the beer garden, we thought we'd wandered into an early celebration of the Oktoberfest as Bavarian folk artists and bands put on their shows during intermissions. The two concerts in Munich were hosted by Khunying Barbara Riepl, honorary consul-general for Bavaria and Saxony.
"Music is an audible expression of cultures. This auditory perception is international and can contribute to a better mutual understanding of different cultures and societies," said Riepl.
Next, the music troupe headed to the Kammermusiksaal (Chamber Music Hall) of the Berliner Philharmonie, a concert hall that is home to the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
"For musicians like us, it's a dream to be playing here. The sound alone is amazing. And only famous and talented bands would get to play at this place," said Pol Sgt Nattakorn Kuljittiniphan, who plays flute and piccolo for the band.
From Berlin, the band continued their journey to the Military Academy of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg before concluding their concert tour at Kurpark in Bad Homburg.
The Siam Symphonic Band was led by three conductors from individual troops who took turn directing the ensemble. Their practice for the German tour started around last December. As the troops often meet during auspicious occasions and celebrations in the Kingdom throughout the year, their already established friendship made working together all the more easier and enjoyable.
Lt Apichart Nithinittayalup, a percussionist from the Royal Thai Navy Band, said he was proud to represent Thai musicians in this music cultural showcase.
"The performances we gave were our best take, and everyone was overjoyed to play our Thai music for farangs to hear. I can say this is our pride and joy for the three troops," said Lt Apichart.
This music tour marks the first time Prince Paribatra's compositions have ever been performed outside the country. Within Thailand, more than 70 compositions, admittedly only a few of the prince's works are known among Thai people.
"Not only are Prince Paribatra's compositions difficult to play, it's also quite sad that some people just view his music as outdated," Prof Dr Poonpit expressed his dismay.
Measures for preservation have been undertaken by Prof Dr Poonpit and his colleagues to make sure this national legacy is not lost in the stream of Western music coming into Thailand.
Depending on the feedback of the tour, the team hopes to give more performances, as well as encouraging more usage of the songs within the country.
- Melalin Mahavongtrakul
A military brass band performs at a palace in Bangkok.
Top brass
Symphonic ensembles in Thailand have evolved since the 19th century mainly as a result of military co-operation
The evolution of Western-style symphonic ensembles in Thailand over the past century owes a great deal to Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand of Nagor Svarga (1881-1944), son of King Rama V. To celebrate the 135th anniversary of the prince's birthday this year, a series of events have been organised, with the highlight of the Siam Symphonic Band performing a concert in Bangkok and five concerts in four different cities of Germany last month.
In the seminar "From Trae Wong To Symphonic Band", held to reflect on the long march of Thai music, experts such as Emeritus Prof Dr Poonpit Amatyakul, Anant Narkkong and Wisit Jitrapong traced the use of horns — trae in Thai — in rituals and military ceremonies in Europe and Asia since ancient times. During the Renaissance Period (16th-17th centuries), in royal courts in Europe, including France, England, the Netherlands and Prussia, infantry soldiers used various kinds of brass instruments to play the music and formed military bands. Such bands served as good examples for troops in European colonies, including India, the Middle East, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore, and this practice spread to Siam in the middle 19th century, or around 1851, when the army and navy started playing brass for salutation and marching in order to express strength and gracefulness, in addition to the adoption of Western-style uniforms.
According to the book Trae Wong (Brass Emsembles), also published to mark Prince Paribatra's birthday, the first use of brass instruments in Thailand was during the reign of King Narai the Great (1656-1688). Over two centuries later in the reign of King Rama IV, former British military officer Capt Impey and Capt Thomas Knox had introduced the use of bugle sounds as signals for training conscripts for the Grand Palace and the Front Palace respectively.
In the same reign, brass instruments for a whole band were purchased but not used until 1862. Then the German warship Acona sailed into the Kingdom, and its brass band performed for the procession to bring the royal tidings to King Rama IV.
The king and his subjects were impressed by the performance and the band conductor Master Friez offered his service as brass instructor to Siamese musicians. It took about a month for Siamese soldiers to learn and finally to play three Western-style songs.
Later, the arrival of US warships on diplomatic journeys to Bangkok, such as Vandila in 1868 and Tennessee in 1877, provided opportunities for Siamese musicians to practice and learn about American styles and songs for brass musicians. The US sailors spent over two months in Siam and taught Siamese soldiers to hone their brass playing skills. The warship Tennessee came with brass instructor Capt Michel Fusco, who stayed and taught at the Royal Thai Navy for 25 years until his death in 1902. He taught army and navy brass bands to perform as marching bands for inspection of troops and perform while sitting as symphonic bands and play Thai traditional music.
Another important brass instructor in Siam was Jacob Veit (1844-1905), a German-American who served the American army in California during the Civil War in 1866. Veit came to Siam and worked as music instructor at the Front Place of King Pinklao, the second king of Siam during the Fourth Reign, until 1885. He taught a number of Siamese soldiers to play brass as signals and to play for small brass bands. His most outstanding student was MR Chit Seniwong, who was good at writing music and also playing. He was later promoted to the rank of Phra Withitborathes and was the first Siamese to be bestowed with a royal medal for music by King Rama V in 1885.
The Royal Thai Army Brass Band was formed in the late 19th century and became popular in Siam ever since. Their performances varied from marching band to symphonic bands in concerts, playing both Western and traditional Thai music. Besides this band, there was a rise in non-military brass bands performing in parades and festivals and also in theatres for silent movies.
During 1882-1902 in the reign of King Rama V, army brass bands were formed by regional armies and their members taught the music to local people, leading to the establishment of more brass bands at the local level. But it was when Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand returned from Germany in the 1920s that the real development of Thai brass bands took off. The prince required all members of military brass bands to learn to read and write Western-style scores and perform by using the notes he arranged. From 1904 to 1932, he arranged the music separately for each of 16 brass instruments. The approaches included training one by one, section by section, until the band members performed in a full band of 60-70 musicians. The prince composed many songs, both in Western and Thai traditions for the band to play for various functions — salutation songs, marching songs for parades and funerals, gala dinner concerts for dignitaries and more. He chose and combined Thai and Western music culture wisely and always with the unpredictable twists and turns of the melodies and harmony. Masterpieces include Paribatra March, the funeral march Soke, and Krob Jakrawal. Prince Paribatra was the composer who transcribed the ancient tune Maha Rirk into a standardised score that is still used as ceremonial music.
Until today, the sound of the bugle remains an everyday signal at barracks, and the foundation of Western music in Thailand, like other foundations, has its roots in the military.
- Pichaya Svasti
Siam Symphonic Band perform a concert at the National Theatre, Bangkok, to celebrate the 135th anniversary of the birthday of Prince Paribatra Sukhumbhand of Nagor Svarga.
Pol Sgt Nattakorn Kuljittiniphan.
