Korphai Ensemble, Korphai or kor phai (, , ) which literally means a 'bunch of bamboo', is an ensemble of traditional Thai percussion music.SGI Quarterly April, 2005 - Arts and Education"Percussion Festival" (Austria)
It was established in the 1980s by Anant Narkkong, the present musical director of the ensemble, who is a professor of ethnomusicology and composition at the Faculty of Music at Silpakorn University.Encuentro Musical Tailandés/"Anant Narkkong" "Meet the Thai Music", Diario Diplomatico Online (Chile), retrieved 5 December 2007 He also airs a radio program of Thai music at the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand.
Music The group plays Thai classical, or piphat, as well as Thai contemporary music. Throughout the past 20 years, Korphai has released a number of albums and performed in numerous public concerts in Thailand, including a performance with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.BSO hooked on classics , retrieved 2007-12-07 The group has also performed abroad, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
The groups is also involved in the music used in Thai films, documentaries, theatres, plays, and festival presentations, such as "Thai Percussion Days 2004" in Vienna. Their music was used in the Thai films, The Legend of Suriyothai (2001) and The Overture at the Seattle International Film FestivalFrom the review of The Overture: "With a soundtrack of meticulously crafted music by the Kor Phai ensemble, the movie has wiped out the view that Thai classical music is outdated and dull." In: "Movie acts as wake-up call for the young", Bangkok Post, 29 February 2003 (2004). The Overture won Best Music with Kor Phai named as co-recipient in Star Entertainment Awards 2004Star Entertainment Awards 2004 at sanook.com and Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards.
In 2005, at the concert dedicated to the 55th anniversary of Thai-Cambodian diplomatic relations at the Chaktomuk Theatre, the performance of the ensemble "won accolades from members of Cambodian royal family", Bangkok Post reported."Coming together Through Music", Bangkok Post, 1 October 2005 (a copy of the article is archived here )
Discography 2007 – Korphai : Bamboo Songs Bamboo Sounds"Bamboo Songs Bamboo Sounds" CD info 2004 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The OvertureOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Overture, liner notes 2003 – Homrak Hom Rong (The Delightful Overture) (Label: Nong Taprachan) Ratree Pradap Dao
Awards
+YearAward1983National Music Contest, the national theatre2004"The Overture" Best Film Music and Score, Hamburger Award2005"The Overture" Best Film Music and Score, Thailand Critics Association2005"The Overture" Best Film Music, Thailand Media Association
Korphai Music Genres
1. Traditional Thai Music: Piphat, Mahoree, Kruangsai Ancient repertoire and selected compositions from famous Thai composers.
2. Folk-Pop music Variety of songs; ranging from Thai folks to international popular music.
3. Fusion Jazz music Variety of Thai songs rearranged in fusion style.
4. Asian-mix Musics of Southeast Asian; rearranged in flexible performance style including stage movements.
5. Experimental music Improvisations & Compositions from modern Thai composers plus multi-media presentations.
6. Theatre Music / Film Music
Korphai musicians +NameRoleInstrumentsAnant NarkkongMusic DirectorPercussionPrasarn WongwirojrakMemberVibraphone, PercussionChaibhuk BhutrachindaComposerGong, Electric GuitarAsdavuth SagarikMemberRanat, Gong, KhimBanhan PaloPercussion, Instruments TunerLerkiat MahavinijchaimontriCoordinatorFiddle, coordinatorThawisak AkarawongMemberLeading XylophoneTossaporn TassanaTechnicianDrumsKanokporn TassanaSingerAmon BhuthanuMemberKeyboard, Gong, XylophoneAkkrapon ApichoMemberBass
References
External links Korphai profile at the Cultural Projects Factory "Korphai Colourful Thai Percussion" Electroacoustic piece at the Mahidol University library. Commission by Patravadi Theatre, Live Premiere at Konzerthaus Wien, Austria in 2004 by Korphai Ensemble