Thai Music Library: Revered Thai Traditional Musician Archive to Preserve Thai Musical Heritage, Phase 4-5, Fiscal Year 2021

Keeping records is always a challenge with Thai traditional music as it relies solely on oral transmission throughout centuries of its history, resulting in scarcity of resource, and challenges in preserving the authenticity and ensuring the continuation of the art.

With this challenge in mind, Thai Music Library under Office of Art and Culture started archiving information on Thai music masters in the project ‘100 Musicians, 100 Years Chula’ as part of the university’s centennial celebration during 2017-2018.  The project collects biography of famous Thai musicians and pedagogues, body of knowledge passed to them by their mentors, and performances through video interviews and other forms with collaboration of Fine Art Department, Thai Music Units of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Police Department, Government Public Relations Department, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.  The list of musicians to interview is compiled from Thai music organizations and major Thai music households.  The list is then sorted according to their age.

The project has evidently become an extensive and comprehensive resource for the Thai traditional music circle.  Students, researchers, and the public have been able to retrieve materials and information on these selected Thai pedagogues and performers.  The library, therefore, decided to continue with the project in 2020 under the new name ‘Chula Memoir of Musicians’.  Phases 1-3 of the project was completed in 2020; a significant proportion of interviews and recording of performances by the musicians in phases 4-6, projected to be completed in 2021, has been suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic.  The plan for another project focusing on these musicians’ pedagogy and their teaching demonstration is also at a halt for the same reason.

As of August 2021, information on 142 musicians has been added to the archive since the genesis of this monumental task in 2017. 

This project directly serves the main mission of Thai Music Library in preserving and ensuring continuation of musical culture of Thailand, disseminating and developing works in the field of Thai traditional music, and promoting and creating awareness of the heritage of the country among newer generation of students and the public.