The Murung are people
living beyond the Chittagong plain in the hills
of West Bangladesh, near the Burmese (Myanmar) border. Consisting of a
population of around 50,000, they have their own language & have been able
to avoid being converted to the neighboring religions.
Their main musical
instrument is the plung, a mouth-organ whose origin is from the region of Burma & Cambodia. It is made of a
wind-chest made of a calabash gourd, several bamboo pipes between three to
five, & a bamboo mouth piece. Each pipe has a hole & contains a free
reed which vibrates when the hole is closed by the fingers of the players. The
reed will vibrate either when inhaling or exhaling.
A plung ensemble can
contain between ten to twenty instruments of different sizes. The music is
repetitive & rhythmic. It creates more tone-color melodies than real
melodies. It is heard during particular events such as weddings, funerals, or
other public celebrations & ceremonies. There is also another version of
the plung, called the rina plung. It accompanies litanies, lists of names of
ancestors, or love poems, which are half-sung & half-murmured. These songs
are accompanied by ecstatic dances.
This record was produced
in France
during the Festival de l'Imaginaire. This Murung music was heard for the first
time outside of their native hills of Bangladesh.
On Bangladesh: Ritual
Mouth Organs of the Murung, the performers are: Long Ngan; Man Yam; Mong
Poy; Thing Ngook; Reng Ning; Pa Ya; Sak Sing; Chik Tu; Pa Lay; Rang Lai, Pai
Ngee, & Tang Poy – all on plung.
Chimbuck Murung - Bangladesh:Ritual Mouth Organs of the Murung, Inedit W 260084, 2001.
decryption code in comments
Tracklist –
Piece for Plung
Orchestra
Song & Rina Plung
Part a – Man’s Song: Village Chronicle;
Nostalgic Poem
Part b – Young Women’s Song: Prayer to
the Forest Spirits
Dance for the Sacrifice
of the Cow, Accompanied by the Plung Orchestra
Enjoy,
NØ