This is another short post about loss. I felt I had to honour the passing of Lok Ta Kong Nay, who died last week at the age of 80. Kong Nay was a Cambodian musician and one of the few artists or musicians to have survived the Khmer Rouge genocide between 1975 and 1979. Over a period of nearly four years, through their ‘agrarian revolution’, the regime attempted to return Cambodia to "year zero," by eliminating the bourgeois, the educated, and all other enemies of the state, including teachers, monks, writers and artists.
Lok Ta Kong Nay played the chapei dang veng and was a master of the chrieng chapei genre in which the vocalist recites the Cambodian epic, the Reamker, based on the ancient Indian epic the Ramayana. The genre is also known for performers semi-improvising material on themes of everyday life, from social satire to moral maxims. This impromptu creativity helps keep an audience engaged but also requires virtuoso musical talent and technique.
Kong Nay lost his sight at four years old and was taught to play the chapei by his uncle. After surviving the Khmer Rouge regime, he resumed performing in 1981 and continued to do so throughout a decade of civil war until Peace Accords were signed in 1991. I was lucky enough to see in perform in Siem Reap, Cambodia, many years ago. It was a remarkable performance.
In 2016, this music was registered in UNESCO's 'List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding', and has been recognised as a profound cultural force. Lok Ta Kong Nay leaves a profound legacy of his own, preserving and publicising this genre of music for generations to come.