Warning: side effects of this disc may include a strong desire to visit Cambodia
It’s rare that I find much to enjoy in contemporary music but BMOP have provided me with two examples this month and Naxos with another. Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and now works in the USA and his blend of East and West is very appealing. You don’t even have to get into the intricacies of the Buddhist philosophy which underlies much of his work to enjoy his music, though for me it’s an added bonus.
Cambodian-born composer Chinary Ung shows us in his latest collection of orchestral works, Singing Inside Aura (BMOP/sound 1044), that he is a major figure on the modern music scene. His childhood was spent absorbing the traditional music of his homeland, including the extensive vocalizations found in a small village setting of his original home. By the time he came to the United States to study under Chou Wen-chung, he had also thoroughly immersed himself in the study of western music.
