A set of lithophone found at Bình Đa, Đồng Nai

The đàn đá is a lithophone played by ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, in the provinces of Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông, Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum. These provinces are also home of the space of Gong culture listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Site. The word đá means "stone" in Vietnamese, đàn is instrument. The term đàn đá is of recent origin among Vietnamese musicologists, it had also been referred to as a đàn goong, a Vietnamese gong.[1]

Several stones of different sizes are placed in a row. The player then uses a stick to knock the stones, each of which produces a different tone. The stone music sounds like the rhythm of the streams and bird songs, and therefore goes well with the surrounding landscape. One of the oldest stone musical instruments ever discovered was found in this area, dating back more than 2,000 years ago.[2]

It is also played by Viet people in nhạc dân tộc cải biên, a form of modern composed classical music, which is often performed for tourists.[3][4]

References

  1. ↑ Vietnam Institute for Musicology đàn đá
  2. ↑ The Garland handbook of Southeast Asian music Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams - 2008 "Lithophones The oldest extant Southeast Asian musical instruments are the lithophones unearthed in Vietnam since about 1950 (Figure 4.1). Some nine or ten sets have been discovered, but they have attracted little attention from prehistoric specialists despite their having come to light over fifty years ago (Condominas 1952). Each set consists of eight to twelve narrow, variously shaped stones, each capable of producing a pitch when struck with a hammer. Since no one knows when they were made, by whom, or for what reason, it follows that we know nothing of the music played on them. They are likely associated with some phase of the Hoabinhian culture, dating from ten thousand to a few thousand years ago. Ancient lithophones are still being discovered, and copies of them are being made on which newly composed music is performed."
  3. ↑ Thanh Nien Business of Art - Non La Theater 17 Feb 2012 "Every 50-minute show, titled Ngoc Viet (Vietnamese pearl), will feature various forms of traditional music, including the Hue royal music, gongs from the Central Highlands, đàn đá (a lithopone, an ancient musical instrument comprising 11 slabs of stone), and lục cúng hoa đăng (a dance with lotus-shaped lanterns, adapted from Buddhism).
  4. ↑ "đàn đá photo".

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