| Classification | String instrument (plucked) |
|---|---|
| Related instruments | |
The saung (Burmese: ; MLCTS: caung: kauk; IPA: [sáʊnɡauʔ]; Mon: စံၚ်, [cɔŋ]; also known as the saung-gauk, Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp) is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and the only surviving harp in Asia today.[1]
Contents |
The Burmese harp is classified as an arched horizontal harp since the resonator body is more horizontal as opposed to the Western harp which has a vertical resonator. The main parts of the harp are the body, the long curved neck, carved out of the root of a tree, and a string bar running down the center of the top of the body. The top of the resonator body is covered with a tightly stretched deer hide, heavily lacquered with four small circular sound holes. The neck terminates in a highly decorated representation of the bo tree leaf. The whole of the harp body is decorated with pieces of mica ("Mandalay pearls"), glass, gilt, and red and black lacquer. The stand is similarly decorated. The ends of the strings on the harp is decorated with red cotton tassels.
The thirteen to sixteen strings of the harp angle upwards from the string bar to the string bindings on the lower part of the curved arch of the neck. Traditionally, tuning was accomplished by twisting and adjusting the string bindings. Recently constructed harps have machine heads or tuning pegs to make tuning easier. The traditional silk strings have also been supplanted by nylon strings, but silk-stringed harps can still be seen.
A full-sized harp has a body of about 80 cm long, 16 cm wide, and 16 cm deep, and the arch rises about 60 cm from the body. Smaller harps have been made for smaller players.
The harp is played by sitting on the floor with the body in the lap, and the arch on the left. The strings are plucked with the right hand fingers from the outside. The left hand is used to dampen the strings to promote clarity and produce staccato notes. Stopped tones are produced by using left thumbnail to press against the string from the inside to increase its tension.
The Burmese harp is a very ancient instrument. The saung may have been introduced as early as 500 AD from Southeastern India, based on archaeological evidence, namely in the form of Burmese temple reliefs that depict a long-necked harp very similar to depictions found in Bengal.[2] The earliest archaeological evidence of the harp is at the Bawbawgyi temple of the Sri Ksetra kingdom of the Pyu people, near present-day Pyay (Prome). At that site, there is a sculptured decoration where the arched harp with about five strings appears in a scene where musicians and a dancer are depicted. This site has been dated to the early eighth century. Contemporary Chinese chronicles from the same period cite Pyu musicians playing the arched harp. The harp has survived continuously since that time, and has been mentioned in many chronicles and texts. The current Burmese word for the harp "saung" has been recorded in Bagan temples, as well as in pictorial representations.
The earliest song-poem texts in Burmese date to the early 14th century, although the music has not survived. It is conjectured that this song-poem was harp music since text refers to the siege of Myinzaing, and "Myinzaing" is one of the classical tunings and musical forms in use today.
The harp benefited from the cultural renaissance of the Konbaung era (1752–1885). When the Burmese king Hsinbyushin sacked Ayuthaya, he brought back with him many Siamese courtiers. The captured Siamese actors and musicians fueled new forms and experiments in harp music. The most significant innovator was the talented courtier Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa (1766–1853), who adapted repertoires of Siamese music into Burmese, rewrote the Siamese Ramayana, called Ramakien, into the Burmese Enaung-zat, composed harp music for it, and developed a whole new genre of harp music called "Yodaya" (the Burmese word for Ayutthaya). U Sa was responsible for increasing the number of harp strings from seven to thirteen.
The Burmese harp and its music was traditionally used only for chamber music within the royal court until the nineteenth century. Since then, it has become popular with the general population, but is still played only in more intimate chamber settings.
The harp is usually accompanied by a singer, or more accurately, the singer is accompanied by the harp, with the harp adapting to the singer, who sings with a bell and clapper to indicate the music tempo.
The Burmese classical music scale is tuned differently from the Western scale, and has been said to be derived from the descending cycle of fifths. This is only approximately true, and traditionally, the harp is tuned differently for the four major different modes of Burmese classical music.
Recently, due to the overriding influence of Western music, many harpists tune to the Western diatonic scale, since fewer and fewer singers feel fully comfortable with the traditional tunings.
Burmese music has not been written down with notation, only the text of the songs are recorded, and the rendition of the music has been passed down through the generations from teacher to student. The last and most well known harpist of the court was U Maung Maung Gyi (1855–1933), who was given a post at King Mindon's court at the young age of thirteen, and given the title "Deiwa-Einda" (Heavenly Musician), which now identifies him. He trained many musicians who became accomplished musicians in their own right. The lineage of today's harpists can be traced directly back to the Deiwa-Einda and other musicians from the court of Mandalay.
With the British annexation and the fall of court of Mandalay, the Burmese court culture and traditions were still carried on for a while at the court of Saophas of Hsipaw, the Shan state closest to Mandalay culturally and geographically. The well-known harpists U Hpu Gyaung and Sao Mya Aye Kyi were from Hsipaw.
In 1956, the Japanese film director Kon Ichikawa made an Oscar nominated anti-war film called The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto), set in Burma during World War II. The main character was a Japanese soldier who becomes a Buddhist monk due to the horrors of war. He plays the saung. However, the sound of the saung is removed from the soundtrack and replaced with an overdub of a Western classical pedal harp.