Mahagita: Harp and Vocal Music of Burma

1. In Praise of the Burmese Harp

2. Glory of the King

3. Rain and a Princess

4. Lonely in the Forest

5. Huntsman Enchanted

6. Longing in a Forest Glade

7. Twelve Royal Gates

8. King's Potency

9. Waiting

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Burma's preeminent player of the arched harp and one of Burma's most respected singers provide a beguiling sampling of the Burmese thachìn gyì (classical song) repertoire in these stunningly beautiful recordings made in Rangoon in 2000. The Burmese arched harp, a little known treasure among Asian musical instruments, figures prominently in Burma's classical music tradition. That tradition, developed over several centuries in Burma's royal courts, exhibits the restraint, subtlety, and elegance of many aristocratic traditions - but in an idiom uniquely Burmese. Extensive notes, photos, 76 minutes

Mahagita: Harp and Vocal Music of Burma,Various Artists,Smithsonian Folkways,Burma,Classical,Int'l & World Music,Pop,V/a Compilations,World Beat Collections,World Music

Mahagita: Harp & Vocal Music of Burma
Average customer rating:

Mind-melter from Myanmar

Melodies of the Orient

Mahagita: Harp & Vocal Music of Burma
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00007J4R4
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Album Description

Burma's preeminent player of the arched harp and one of Burma's most respected singers provide a beguiling sampling of the Burmese thachìn gyì (classical song) repertoire in these stunningly beautiful recordings made in Rangoon in 2000. The Burmese arched harp, a little known treasure among Asian musical instruments, figures prominently in Burma's classical music tradition. That tradition, developed over several centuries in Burma's royal courts, exhibits the restraint, subtlety, and elegance of many aristocratic traditions - but in an idiom uniquely Burmese. Extensive notes, photos, 76 minutes

Customer Reviews:

Mind-melter from Myanmar.......2004-11-19

This is another of the recordings I received for Christmas of 2003, and it completes my collection of officially-released, Rick Heizman-recorded discs of classical Burmese music.

I was so happy to have received it, but upon opening it my happiness was immediately dulled. The inside cover picture is of a young Inle Myint Maung {the saung gauk (Burmese harp) master here}, with the caption saying that he died on 9/5/01 while this cd was in production.

To move along to this cd itself, it is the duo of Daw Yi Yi Thant (vocals) and Inle Myint Maung. Yi Yi is of course already familiar to you if you have the White Elephants and Golden Ducks disc, but she truly shines here. It's not so much that she isn't great on that disc also, but here she is on every track. Here you can truly dive deeply into her art and experience her completely.

As I always say about the classical repertoire of Burma (Myanmar), this music has a broken movement that is unlike anything else I have ever heard. Everything about it is completely unlike the ways in which the West thinks about music, and it is incredible. This music... at least for me... seems to spread my consciousness thin. It's delta wave music. I, and people I've been in cars with, have found that this stuff is not safe to listen to while driving. It is too good at taking your mind elsewhere.

I have traditionally recommend people try White Elephants and Golden Ducks first out of all these discs, since it has so many artists and instruments. I think it is a great "sampler" disc (though it does not have repetition and tracks culled from the other discs, so it is a must-have in-and-of itself) because of that, but you can't go wrong with this disc either, if it is to be your initial exposure to the classical musics of Burma. This disc is incredible. The things Inle does on saung gauk behind Yi Yi are just gorgeous... the height of this style of music, and Yi Yi herself is a marvel. For the first 5-or-so years that I was into Burmese musics I was always first-and-foremost into it for the playing, but having this disc for the past year has really bonded me to the vocals as well. Let this music really sink in and you'll find that Yi Yi is an incredible singer... even moreso than I previously thought, and I always did enjoy her on White Elephants.

This disc is magical. Truly one of the highlights in the Heizman recordings from Burma, and that is saying quite alot as I have and love all of the discs.

Melodies of the Orient.......2003-10-21

Mahagita is a selection of canonical Burmese classical songs, recited by the incomparable Daw Yi Yi Thant, accompanied by the late Inle U Myint Maung. This CD captures the indelible otherworldliness of Burmese classical music the way few others do. The harp music, graceful and constrained, remains in the background while the vocalist's warm voice, full of longing, flows from passage to passage. At regular intervals, a pair of tiny shells and a set of wood clappers, ubiquitous chronometrical instruments in Burmese compositions, mark the tempos of the songs.

Be it an ode to a forest (track 4) or the celebration of a monarch (track 2), the singer effortlessly carries out the required vocal nuances to match the mood of the piece. The undisputed quality of the recording and the performance of the virtuoso musicians aside, even the translation of the titles of these compositions, some of which dated back to Burma's glorious feudal past, must have presented a great challenge. Just like the music contained in the CD, the booklet within gives the listener an informative summary of Burmese classical music.

This CD, in time, will serve as the musical equivalent of a historical document.

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