Samakkhiphet Khamchan: Crafting Aesthetic Sounds – The Composition of Thai Music for Mahori Ensemble Based on Poetic Prosody

Abstract

This research, titled "Samakkhi Phet Kham Chan San Siang Haeng Atthrot: Composing Thai Music for the Mahori Ensemble from Chanthalak Prosody," aimed to compose a new Thai musical piece for the Mahori ensemble based on the classical poem Samakkhi Phet Kham Chan and to synthesize and disseminate the resulting body of knowledge and musical score.

The study found that Samakkhi Phet Kham Chan, a poem by Nai Chit Burathat concerning the dangers of disunity, exists in two forms; the researcher utilized the revised version published by the Ministry of Education. By adapting the poem's nineteen chan forms, two kāp forms, and the prosodic rules of chanthalak, a total of twenty musical compositions were created.

Four principal methods were employed to derive melodies from the prosody: creating melodies through rhythmic enforcement based on the recitation of chanthalak; controlling pitch and duration based on khru and lahu (long and short syllables); utilizing musical note connections to reflect the poem’s obligatory rhyme schemes; and selecting the $Sol-La-Ti-X-Re-Mi-X$ scale in seven distinct modes based on the narrative content. For the Mahori ensemble arrangement, nine techniques were used to musically enrich the pieces, including establishing rhythmic foundations (nā thap), using musical form, employing harmony, incorporating silence, implementing choral singing, creating focal points, building anticipation, utilizing melodic repetition, and developing the unique vocal identity of the Auean Samnian Khaek style.