This ensemble has been recorded to date back to the Angkor era, more than a thousand years ago, with its beginnings in the Angkorian courts.  The instruments carved on the Angkor Wat temple walls stand as testimony to its long and glorious past.

Pinpeat is considered to be one of the strongest ensembles of all Khmer music ensembles with approximately 9 to 10 wind and percussion instruments.  Pinpeat sounds beautiful and is sweet on the ears, with a rich and strong rhythm that has the power to make people feel cheerful. This music is used in many of the Cambodian daily rituals.  It is played as an accompaniment to masked play, court dance, shadow play and at religious ceremonies.

This ensemble has a vast number of theme melodies, more than 250 of them. It has earned the name of being the dance music (phleng laim) or the drum music (phleng skor.)  All the pieces are associated with some action or the other, with relevant patterns of drums that are used as a support to the action performed on stage. We can take the example of “Reamker,” where the Pinpeat music is played in coordination with the different nuances of the story.

The instruments which are part of the Pinpeat ensemble are: high bamboo xylophone (roneat ek), low bamboo xylophone (roneat thung), quadruple-reed instruments (sralai tuch and sralai thom), high-pitched metallophone (roneat dek), low-pitched circular frame gongs (kong thomm), high-pitched circular frame gongs (kong tauch), Two huge double-headed barrel drums (skor thomm), small finger cymbals (chhing), small double-headed barrel drum (sampho) and vocals (chamrieng.)

Pinpeat was the basis of many other Khmer ensembles, including the phlaeng mahaori orchestra related to temple ceremonies; phlaeng knong schoor and khlang chnak orchestras, which as both related to funeral rites.

The hypnotic beats of the Pinpeat ensemble with waves of beautiful sound driven by a strong pulse, gives the listener a feeling of inner joy.

No religious temple celebration or traditional ceremony like a wedding is considered complete without Khmer music.  Even the ancient temples of Angkor, which are an archeological treasure, reveal this aspect of Cambodian culture through the numerous musical instruments depicted on the walls.

During the Angkor period, when the Khmer civilization was at its peak, the walls of the great temples were carved with beautiful celestial dancers complete with their musical instruments.  The music ensembles are similar to the ensembles performing today, such as the pinn – an angular harp; skor yol – suspended barrel drums; and chhing – small cymbals.  As a testimony to the ancient tradition, these Khmer musical ensembles are found in every Cambodian village today.

Khmer music is predominantly based on the five-tone or pentatonic scale. When compared to the Western music, it may seem to lack harmony.  One musician’s xylophone will most likely give out a different tune from the others. Each musician imposes their very own tune in the ensemble. All musicians in the ensemble have a single melody in their minds that is not actually played by any single musician.  It is like they just have the road map leading to a common destination.  The drummer usually regulates the ensemble’s pace.

Now there is a modern music ensemble that uses Western instruments to play traditional Khmer music, called modern mohori or mohori samai, which uses the flute, guitar, organ, mandolin, violin, accordion, banjo and violoncello.  With this ensemble, the only traditional musical instrument that is continued to be used is the thaunrumanea drums.

In Cambodian tradition, music has always been passed on to the student from the teacher from memory.  Notation of the musical pieces is a fairly recent phenomenon. Khmer music has a mythical feeling about it, just like the Khmer people.

The temple’s architecture reflects the varied styles of different kings who modified it during their reign. While most of the Khmer temples are oriented toward the east, this temple has the distinction of being different by being constructed along a north-south axis, which is unusual.

The construction of this temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva was started as early as the 9^th century by the monarchs of the Khmer Empire, who had a strong Brahman influence.  Initially, the Shiva sanctuary was built at the very top of the mountain.  Over the centuries, the temple paid tribute to Shiva’s different manifestations; as Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara, the mountain gods. Most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of kings Suryavarman and Suryavarman II.

You will also find an inscription at the temple that provides details of Suryavarman II celebrating religious rituals, reciting sacred rituals and making gifts for his spiritual advisor, who was an aged Brahman. The inscription also reveals that the Brahman also took great interest in the temple and donated a golden statue of Shiva to the temple.

Preah Vihear is dissimilar to the other temple mountains of Angkor, but it also represents Mount Meru, the adobe of gods; albeit a more stylish version.  There are a total of five gopuras that are on different levels, increasing the impact. These gopuras act as blocks so that the next part of the temple is not seen unless a gateway is passed.  The whole temple complex cannot be seen completely from any one location.

The Preah Vihear province of Cambodia, where the temple is located, gets its name from this temple. This temple set the stage for the surrender of the Khmer Rouge in 1998. There have been significant disputes between Cambodia and Thailand over the ownership of the temple.

It all started with an ownership battle between Thailand and Cambodia as early as in 1958, and this put an end to their diplomatic relations. Finally, Cambodia won, but the scars still remain.

Preah Vihear was part of two Cambodian civil wars; one in May 1975 and the other in December 1998.  Even the cement bunkers and bullet holes from those times still remain around the temple complex, as witnesses to the agony the temple has been put through.

In the 12^th and 13^th centuries, the Khmer Empire covered most of the land that Thailand sits on today. Although, many of the Khmer temples are in Thailand, in the north-eastern province that boarders Cambodia, Preah Vihear has always been the most contentious.

It was the French that marked the Thai-Cambodian border in the year 1904 and composed a map.  They used the watershed on the Dangrek Mountain range as the line of segregation.  Thailand argues that Preah Vihear is clearly on the Thai side of the divided line; however, the temple is shown on the Cambodian side in the map.

It was in 2007, that this old dispute was ruffled again, when Cambodia decided to propose giving Preah Vihear the distinction of being a World Heritage Site.  Thailand brought to the fore some unresolved disputes pertaining to a piece of land outside the temple compound, and Cambodia agreed to redraw the map, leaving that land to Thailand.

However, this decision could prove inconvenient for Cambodia, as rumors are rife that there are plans of building a hotel-casino complex on that land, with perhaps a cable car to take the gamblers to the temple.

Amidst all these disputes, gods reign in all their glory, in Preah Vihear, looking down with amusement at human nature, which is never satisfied.

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It was built in the 12^th century for King Suryavarman II, and is one of the most well preserved temples in Cambodia.  It epitomizes the classical style of the Khmer temple architecture, which is a combination of two plans: one is the temple mountain and the other is the galleried temple.  The design of the temple represents Mount Meru, the mythological home of the Hindu Gods (devas).

Angkor Wat is oriented to the West, which is not the case with the other temples in Angkor.

Until the 19^th century the Angkor city and temples were hidden by the forests.  It was seen by the world only when French archaeologists took up the extensive restoration of this hidden marvel that stood the test of time.  It involved clearing the forests, repairing the damaged foundations and constructing drains to ensure that water does not damage the buildings.

The Angkor Wat temple is now a World Heritage Site, which ensured that the Cambodian government protected the site and also funded part of the restoration project.

In the 1980’s, after another restoration, the roof was replaced with cement, but this cement leaked into the temple and caused immense damage.  Now, restoration is underway and the roof stones have been removed, but they will be reassembled on stronger foundations. There are also sections of the structure that have collapsed, and this restoration is to ensure there is no further collapse.

This architectural masterpiece with its perfect balance, composition and sculpture is one of the finest monuments in the world. A moat surrounds the temple and the wall around it measures 1300m x 1500m.  The walls of this temple are covered inside and outside with carving and bas-reliefs.  Keeping such a massive structure intact is a huge task, which is being undertaken with a lot of love and care it deserves.

This huge temple, built around 1113 and 1150 AD by Suryavarman II of the Khmer empire, is the epitome of Khmer architecture, and is considered to be one of the most astonishing architectural achievements. It took more than 30 years for the construction of this temple.

Angkor Wat’s massive stone towers rise to heights of almost 200 feet and have awed visitors from around the world, every since Henri Mouhot, the French explorer discovered the ruins in the midst of a dense jungle, in 1861.

King Suryavarman II dedicated this temple to the Hindu god Vishnu.  It depicts the Hindu influences from India even before Buddhism became the religion of dominance. The design, consisting of a series of concentric rectangles, represents the Hindu cosmos.  There are five towers at the center of Angkor Wat that represent the five peaks of the mythic Mount Meru, the home of gods.  The intricate and laborious craftsmanship stands witness to the skill of the craftsmen from centuries ago.

Twenty-seven years after the death of Suryavarman II, the Khmer empire was restored by King Jayavaraman VII, who was a Hindu.  He was later deposed by his son-in-law who was an ordained Buddhist monk. This led to King Jayavaraman coming to the conclusion that this happened because Hindu Gods failed him, and it was then that he decided to convert the official religion of the Khmer empire to Buddhism.  He later converted Angkor Wat into a Buddhist temple during the 15^th century.  All the Hindu deities and other decorations at the temple were replaced by Buddhist statues and carvings.

Angkor Wat is the prime attraction of Cambodia and thousands of visitors visit the temple each year from all corners of the globe.  It is the pride of the nation and now appears as a symbol on the Cambodian national flag.