The acclaimed traditional music ensemble Fong Naam was founded in 1981 by American Bruce Gaston and "Teacher" Boonyong Khetkong. Even after the death of some of the original masters, all of whom were national artists, the band remains Thailand's most well-known musical group internationally.
The band performed at the AUA Language Center on Ratchadamri Road in 1983, just before I began teaching there, providing the soundtrack to a 1927 silent movie, Chang, about rural life in the northern jungles of what was then Siam. The accompanying music was created specially for the screen by Gaston and Khetkong. The band went on to perform with the movie at the National Theater in 1990 and at various venues in the UK the following year.
Chang: A Drama Of The Wilderness was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack and released by Famous Players-Lasky, a division of Paramount Pictures (the current copyright holder). The movie was nominated for an Academy Award in 1929 and did have an original score written by Hugo Riesenfeld, but this was not performed when the film was shown in Thailand at that time.
The plot of the movie centres around a family of farmers and forest-dweller Kru, and how he and his family survive battles with leopards, tigers and a huge herd of elephants. The animals, given this was 1927, were "dangerous beasts" but were all ultimately defeated. Despite having their house destroyed by rampaging elephants, Kru's family starts again, ready to face the future. It's quite a story, full of real action that must have been a nightmare to film.
This past weekend, Chang was shown at Lido Connect, and Fong Naam, now led by Bruce Gaston's son Theodore, recreated the live soundtrack. He was originally asked to create a soundtrack for the movie by former director of the Thai Film Archive Dome Sukhawong, who had seen Gaston perform piano music to accompany classic silent movies like Intolerance at the AUA Language Center.
Gaston had very specific ideas about how to create the music that would invoke the jungles of northern Thailand, as he said in his notes for the 1990 performance: "Fong Naam won't do in the nowadays' style. We will go back to the philosophy of the old-style musical accompaniment to silent film. Music and film will work in parallel; each has a different role. Fong Naam's music has its uniqueness that is differentiated from the film." What he tried to do was to keep the unique qualities of each performer in the score which is in contrast to music used in normal soundtracks, which is purely there to enhance the narrative of the film. Gaston blended computer and synthesiser sounds (using the trusty Yamaha DX7 and floppy discs) with Thai classical instruments, as well as instruments from the North (Lanna) and from the Ngo ethnic group. Anant Nakkhong makes the point in the programme notes that Fong Naam were able to connect with the dance dramas of the past such as lakhon chatree, while adding at the same time electronic sounds, khon chants, recitations, various songs and tunes, the sound of nature and of animals, thereby creating a soundscape that draws in the viewer. Nakkhong noted "… the pictures on the screen, the performance of the musicians in front of the screen, and the experience of the audience participating in this theatrical event carry on simultaneously".
I had to wait 39 years to see Fong Naam perform their soundtrack to Chang but it was well worth it. The experience is a sensory delight and for 64 minutes I was transported back to life in Thailand's northern jungles nearly 100 years ago. I lived in a house like Kru's in Buri Ram many years ago, although the one I slept in leaned to one side; Kru did a better job of his construction.
Each of the three performances this past weekend will have been different. Gaston said that the name of Fong Naam, which means "bubbles" in Thai, reflects the impermanent nature of art, of music, so each time you hear something slightly different.
The event was created by Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Fine Arts and its digital arm, FAAMAI, with support from the Goethe Institute and the Ministry of Culture.
In related news, live music has returned to Bangkok. DJs have been spinning vinyl on their decks for a while now and live bands are back on the stage. Studio Lam features Toom Turn Molam Band and Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band this week. Book early as spaces are limited.
John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com
