An Analysis of the Culture of Music in the Commemorative Cremation Book from the Cremation Ceremony of Chamuenmanit Nares (Chalerm Sawestananda)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a research and analysis of knowledge of music culture from the commemorative cremation book “Suk-Rahas”. This was distributed in the cremation ceremony of Chamuenmanit Nares (Chalerm Sawestananda), who had always maintained a close connection with music culture in Thailand. The book is a collection of writings by both the deceased and those who knew him. It was found that “Suk-Rahas” comprised 2 volumes: The first was the main book comprising 3 sections: the mourning writing, the biography of Chamuenmanit Nares, and his essays. His contribution to numerous facets of music, theoretical understanding of music, recommendations for practicing additional musical material, other musical knowledge, and musical knowledge based on his experience are among the musical topics covered in the volume. The second volume is a collection of children's songs composed by Chamuenmanit Nares. These songs were meant to teach moral lessons and were used as theme tunes for radio plays. The lyrics also reflects a political undertone.The analysis of these two commemorative volumes concluded that "Suk-Rahas" demonstrates a wide range of musical knowledge and holds information that is not included in conventional Thai music history.This study, therefore, is considered a synthesis of some facts concerning Thailand’s music history using a commemorative cremation book as a primary document.