Creator

Kong Nay

គង់ ណៃ

Cambodian chapei dang veng master singer and teacher recognised as a national living human treasure.

Master Kong Nay (គង់ ណៃ, Kong Nay) was a Cambodian master of the chapei dang veng, the long-necked lute whose player sings improvised verse.[1][2] Blind from early childhood, he performed in Cambodia and abroad and taught a generation of younger chapei players.[3][2]

Life

Kong Nay came from Kampot Province in southwestern Cambodia.[1][4] He began studying the chapei at 13. World Music Central dates his first professional performances to two years later; Radio Free Asia gives his age then as 18.[5] He studied poetry for nearly two decades, and his skill at improvising grew from it.[6]

During Democratic Kampuchea (1975 to 1979), when the Khmer Rouge set out to eliminate intellectuals and artists, he was forced to work long hours with little food.[6] He was made to sing propaganda songs to save his life.[7] He was one of relatively few great chapei masters to survive the period, and he returned to performing while the civil war went on.[1][8][2]

The Fukuoka Prize records a first prize in a chapei competition in 1982, and wins in Kampot Province and in Phnom Penh in 1991. Wikipedia and Radio Free Asia give 1991 as the year he won the national competition.[2][1][5] In 2001 the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts named him "Master of Chapey."[2] He taught music in the ministry's Department of Performing Arts, and from 2003 to 2012 he trained young chapei players through programs supported by Cambodian Living Arts.[5][2] His students included Srey Thy, and he inspired younger musicians such as Soeung Chetra.[7][3]

Kong Nay died at his home in Kampong Trach District, Kampot Province, on June 28, 2024. He was 80.[1][8][3] Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen sent condolences.[5]

Repertoire

Kong Nay was a master of chrieng chapei, in which a solo singer accompanies himself on the chapei and sets semi-improvised topical verse within traditional epics.[1][5] He recited the Reamker, the Cambodian epic based on the Indian Ramayana. His songs dealt with everyday life, human feelings, moral maxims and social satire.[2] He also sang classical poems, including works by Phirum Ngoy.[6] On stage he often used playful lyrics much like diss tracks.[9] In 2016 chapei was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.[2]

Supporters compare his place in Cambodia to that of Ray Charles in the United States, and he was often called "the Ray Charles of Cambodia." The musician Song Seng noted that not everyone welcomes the comparison.[3]

Performances and recordings

Kong Nay performed at WOMAD in Wiltshire, England, in 2007, and at WOMAD New Zealand in New Plymouth and WOMADelaide in Adelaide in 2008.[1][2] He appeared at World Chamber Music in Tokyo in 2009 and at the Season of Cambodia Festival in New York in 2013, where he played with jazz musicians. In 2015 he performed with an orchestra at "Disability & Arts" at Tokyo University of the Arts. On World Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh in 2010, he played with rock musicians and performed the song "Woman" for women's rights.[2] His work also included composing and cooperation with United Nations human-rights programs and events supporting people with disabilities.[2] On September 23, 2017, he gave a public lecture on chapei music at IMS Hall in Fukuoka.[2]

His album Un Barde Cambodgien (A Cambodian Bard) was released by the Maison des Cultures du Monde; Wikipedia dates it to 2003, and the Fukuoka Prize and World Music Central to 2006.[1][2][6] He recorded Mekong Delta Blues with Ouch Savy for Long Tale Recordings in 2007, and he was featured on The Rough Guide to Psychedelic Cambodia in 2014.[6][2]

In 2021 he joined the rapper VannDa on Time To Rise.[1][9] VannDa has said that listening to Kong Nay's albums inspired him to make traditional music that would keep Khmer listeners interested in traditional instruments and culture.[9] The song, one of his last projects, brought renewed interest in his music and introduced younger audiences to Cambodia's traditional music.[5][3]

Recognition

  • "Master of Chapey," Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (2001)[2]
  • Gold Grand Cross of Cambodia Cultural Reputation (2007)[1][6]
  • One of 17 National Living Human Treasures named by the Cambodian government (2013)[5]
  • Arts and Culture Prize, 28th Fukuoka Prize (2017)[2]
  • Honorary certificates from the Royal Academy of Khmer Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts[5]

Works


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Kong Nay, Wikipedia
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Fukuoka Prize, Kong Nay, laureate profile
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The New York Times, He Survived the Khmer Rouge and Built a Musical Legacy (August 4, 2025)
  4. ↑ Manoa, A Musician's Life: An Interview with Kong Nay
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Radio Free Asia, Legendary Cambodian musician celebrated as master of chapei (July 14, 2024)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 World Music Central, Kong Nay artist profile (March 18, 2018)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Quietus, Out of the Darkness: The Cambodian Space Project
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Khmer Times, Legendary musician Kong Nay dies (2024)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Bandwagon, Introducing: Cambodian rapper VannDa (September 17, 2021)
Retrieved from "https://dev.khmerconnection.com/w/index.php?title=Kong_Nay&oldid=7528"
This page was last edited on 3 October 2026, at 01:02.