The ''kong vong toch'' ( km, គងវង់តូច or kong touch km, គងតូច) is a number of

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

s that are attached to a circle-shaped rack, closely resembling its larger relative, the kong thom. Both instruments belong to the percussion family of traditional Khmer instruments, along with the

roneat ek The ''Roneat Ek'' or Roneat Aek ( km, រនាតឯក; also called ''Roneat Rut'') is a xylophone used in the Khmer classical music of Cambodia. It is built in the shape of a curved, rectangular shaped boat. It has twenty-one thick bamboo or ha ...

, roneat dek, and

roneat thung The ''roneat thung'' or ''roneat thum'' ( km, រនាតធុង) is a low-pitched xylophone used in the Khmer classical music of Cambodia. It is built in the shape of a curved, rectangular shaped boat. This instrument plays an important part i ...

. These instruments are all performed in the

pinpeat The ''Pinpeat'' ( km, ពិណពាទ្យ, ) is the largest Khmer traditional musical ensemble. It has performed the ceremonial music of the royal courts and temples of Cambodia since ancient times. The orchestra consists of approximately ni ...

and mahaori orchestras. The kong toch is made of three parts; the frame of the gong circle, the gongs themselves, and the gong mallets. The ''kong toch'' is analogous to the '' khong wong lek'' used in Thai.

History

The Khmer word ''korng/ kong'' "gong" is refers to all types of gong including the flat or bossed gong, single or in a set, suspended on cords from hooks, or a gong placed over a frame. The history of these gongs can be traced in part from the epigraphy and iconography of

Funan Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...

Chenla Chenla or Zhenla (; km, ចេនឡា, ; vi, Chân Lạp) is the Chinese designation for the successor polity of the kingdom of Funan preceding the Khmer Empire that existed from around the late sixth to the early ninth century in Indoc ...

and

Angkor Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...

periods, for many can be seen carved on ancient Khmer temple.

Construction and Design

Gong Frame The frame of the gong circle is made from a rattan vine which is smoothed and rounded into shape. Four lengths of the vine are taken to make one frame. The lengths are divided into two pairs, a shorter pair for the inner circle and a longer pair for the outer. The instrument is held up with 16 supports, made of neang nuen, krennoonf, or beng wood. The gong circle is held together with six crossbars, designed to keep the distance between the inner and outer frames fixed. Copper wires are wrapped around the length of each support post, one on the inner and one on the outer. Gong Heads/Mallets There are 16 gong heads, which cover a range of pitches. They are rounded and flat in shape with a raised knob in the middle, known as the nipple. The nipple is crucial to the sound, as this is the part being struck by the player. In addition to this, the gongs are tuned by sticking promor (a lead and wax combination) to the underside of the nipple. Two holes are drilled on either side of the gong so it can be suspended in the frame with copper wire. The same gong mallets are used for the kong toch and the kong thom. The

mallets A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and propor ...

have a 25 cm long stick. The heads are made from the earlier mentioned promor, which is then wrapped in four or five layers of cloth and stitched with nylon thread. Tuning The kong toch's 16 gong heads are tuned accordingly: (from lowest to highest pitch) ·D ·Eb ·F ·G ·A ·Bb ·C ·D ·E ·F ·G ·A ·Bb ·C ·D ·E Khong wong lek

References

* Khean, Yun. "kong vong toch and kong vong thom." Apakaraṇ tantri purāṇ Kambujā = Traditional musical instruments of Cambodia.. 2nd ed. Phnom Penh: Aṅgakār Aparaṃvidyāss̄tra niṅ Vappadham nai Sahaprajājāti, 2003. 162-171. Print.

External links

UNESCO document, Traditional Musical Instruments of Cambodia. PDF.
Gongs Cambodian musical instruments {{Idiophone-instrument-stub

History

Construction and Design

See also

References

External links