Thai Elephant Orchestra

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Elephants at a demonstration at the National Elephant Institute
David Sulzer (Dave Soldier) on an elephant of the Thai Elephant Orchestra

The Thai Elephant Orchestra is an ensemble made up of elephants in the province of Lampang in northern Thailand . The animals use specially made instruments. The orchestra belongs to the National Elephant Institute (NEI) and plays for visitors to the facility.

history

In 1992 the state Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC; now the National Elephant Institute ) was opened in the village of Thung Kwian, in the district of Hang Chat , about 28 kilometers away from the city of Lampang . The institute is dedicated to the protection of elephants. Thai elephants are kept, treated and trained in traditional ways of working here. The veterinary faculty of Chiang Mai University is a partner of the tourist-oriented facility. One of the tasks of the institute is to find solutions for the former working elephants of Thailand and their mahouts , who are affected by the progressive mechanization of forest work and the introduction of legal restrictions on the deforestation of the forests and the use of elephants.

In the late 1990s the co-founder and director of the TECC, Richard Lair, and decided at the Columbia University working neuroscientist David Sulzer, build a composed of elephant orchestra. Sulzer had already worked part-time as a musician and composer under the stage name Dave Soldier, among others with artists such as John Cale , Bo Diddley and David Byrne . In addition to the musical challenge, Sulzer saw the opportunity to explore the cognitive and musical abilities of elephants. Lair, a zoologist, had already taught some of the center's elephants to paint. For him, an orchestra of elephants playing instruments represented a potential source of income for the institute.

"We're constantly trying to find new things that are non-abusive to the elephants but can entertain people and make money to meet our payroll."

"We are constantly trying to develop new activities in which elephants can not be abused, but visitors can be entertained and our salaries can be funded."

- Richard Lair : BBC News, 2002

Initially, six elephants between the ages of seven and 18 were used. Later the number increased to up to 18 animals. The orchestra's music was released on three albums by Mulatta Records.

The NEI orchestra is considered the first and only elephant orchestra in the world. Reuters named it the world's only non-human musical ensemble. The Los Angeles Times referred in 2001 to the importance of the orchestra: worldwide there have focused their interest on the problem of declining elephant population in Thailand. The formation performed for the Queen of Thailand , Sirikit , and the BBC recording of a piece of music was played on host Jon Stewart's Daily Show . Various pieces were broadcast on the British radio station NTS.

Music and instruments

At the University of Kansas , Sulzer had known research that elephants were able to recognize different melodies. Nevertheless, he initially considered it questionable whether it would be possible to make elephants make music. To his astonishment, however, the animals started using the instruments after a short time.

"Elephants like to listen to music: If you play music they'll come over, and in the morning when the mahouts take them out of the jungle, they sing to to calm them down ... So what we came up with was, well, maybe if we made ergonomic instruments that would be easy for elephants to play - for instance, marimbas and drums that are giant - perhaps they would play music. "

“Elephants like to listen to music: if someone is playing music, they come by, and when the mahouts take them out of the jungle in the morning, they sing to calm them down… So what would happen if we made ergonomic instruments that were made for elephants would be easy to play - for example giant marimbas and drums: maybe they would make music. "

- David Sulzer : National Public Radio, 2013

The animals play simple, ergonomically manufactured instruments that can withstand high loads: woodwind instruments, harmonica , string instruments, drums, gongs and xylophones . The predominantly improvised music is created under the guidance of Sulzer and with the help of the mahouts. The instruments sound like traditional Thai musical instruments, the melodies produced are said to be similar to the local music.

criticism

The neuroscientist Stefan Kölsch denies that elephants can produce music. In the orchestra people would make the music, the animals were only trained to operate instruments with their trunks on instruction.

Discography

Thai Elephant Orchestra with Dave Soldier & Richard Lair:

  • The Thai Elephant Orchestra (2000), Rigglius Music / Mulatta Records
  • Elephonic Rhapsodies (2005), Rigglius Music / Mulatta Records
  • Water Music (2011), Mulatta Records

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Richard Hooper, Elephant orchestra: Can animals make real music? , November 13, 2013, BBC News (BBC World Service)
  2. ↑ John Burnside, I Assumed the elephant orchestra was a gimmick. But those pachyderms can play , March 17, 2018, New Statesman (English)
  3. ↑ Phil Mercer, Thailand's musical elephants , August 13, 2002, BBC News (English)
  4. ↑ Thailand's elephant music , February 1, 2001, The Economist (fee-based; English)
  5. ↑ “Musifanten”: Elephant Orchestra makes music , August 19, 2009, Kronen Zeitung
  6. ↑ a b Gillian Murdoch, Thai elephant orchestra thumps to a unique beat , September 6, 2007, Reuters (English)
  7. ↑ Elephants Lumber to a Different Tune , September 20, 2001, Los Angeles Times (English)
  8. ↑ a b Thai Elefant Orchestra , NTS Radio (English)
  9. ↑ The Biggest Thing Out Of Thailand: An Elephant Orchestra , August 3, 2013, NPR (English)
  10. ↑ David Moye, Thai Elephant Orchestra Is Thailand's Biggest Band - Literally , June 8, 2013, Huffpost (English)
  11. ↑ Till Hein, neuroscientist Kölsch: “Stradivari violins are totally overrated” , June 14, 2019, profile