Tales from Uncle Mi Po (43): Enjoy Light Classical Music

Dr. Shiwat Wiboonsawat

Uncle Mei has told many stories about Western songs and Thai world songs. In this article, we will introduce some classic world songs. It will contain short music clips of 3-4 minutes each (actual songs last from half an hour to over an hour), which is long enough to hear the main melody of the song and the orchestral playing style. We hope it will stimulate your interest in listening to the full song yourself. You can search on YouTube or listen to live concerts of Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra or the Faculty of Music student orchestras. Mahidol University

Let's start by listening to pure instrumental classical music. (Instrumental) There will only be a few songs with chorus sounds interspersed. This group will first introduce light classical music (light classical music or mood music), which is a short genre of music. It is easy to listen to and the musical structure is not complicated. (Not like a concerto, symphony or opera)

Composing light music began in the late 18th century and continued to become more popular in the mid-20th century, with new composers creating more distinctive music. In this collection, we will present 5 songs in an exciting fast rhythmic style.

The first song is a work Jacques Offenbach, French composer In 1858, a work called Orpheus in the Underworld There is a part where the melody catches the listener's ear, called can-can music, which is associated with a French dance style that includes high kicks.

At the opening ceremony of this year's Olympic Games (Paris 2024), a stage was set up on the banks of the Seine, and 40 Can Can dancers danced to the song.

The second song was written in 1900 by Nikolai Rimsky-Kosakov Russian composer It's an interlude to an opera called Flight of Bumble Bee gives you the feeling of flying in a swarm of bees.

The third song is a work. Pascal Navarro, Spanish composer It came out in 1920 and was called Spanish Gypsy Dance or Espana Cani is a style of Spanish dance music. The Latin dance competition is called Paso Doble. The clip features a live orchestra by André Rieu, a Dutch violinist who created an orchestra for easy listening. It is popular with a wider audience.

The fourth song is a work Albert Kettleby, English composer It came out in 1920 under the name In a Persian market It depicts the hustle and bustle of the Arab market, giving an exotic atmosphere, a foreign country unknown to foreigners. This song has a chorus. (Choral singing) is also included

The last song, “The Truth”, is a true classic by the great composer Wolfgang Mozart. In 1783, he composed Piano Sonata No. 11, the third movement of which has a pleasant rondo rhythm, using Turkish music. Hence the name of this song. Rondo Alla Turca or Turkish March chose this song to be in the light music group because it creates the same mood.