Sanphet Maha Prasat Palace 1687 Concerto

“Sanphet Maha Prasat Palace” is “a Concerto Glosso.” This composition aims to study the approach of composing Thai melodies using the pentatonic scale as a base, the selection of musical instruments, and the arrangement of Baroque harmony to find a balance between Thai musical identity and Western musical arrangements. This piece was inspired by a story in 1687 when Simon de La Loubère, Head of the French Mission, met and presented royal messages to King Narai the Great at Sanphet Maha Prasat Palace. This was an important historic event in the Ayutthaya period. The composition concept combines Thai identity through the melodies from the Ayutthaya period and European identity through concerto music in the Baroque period. The composer used the melodies of the Thai traditional piece “Khangkhok Pag Sa” to the idea of designing a new melody to reflect the Thai identity of the Ayutthaya period and used the piece “Brandenburg Concertos” to design a song form, to reflect the European identity of the Baroque period. Finally, the sound of instruments from the sampling sound in the recording is used to represent a solo group of instruments, and a Western string orchestra sound represents a large group of instruments. The composer experimented with composing a Thai melody by choosing the pentatonic scale, choosing instruments, and arranging harmonies in the Baroque period to find a balance between the identity of Thai music and Western musical arrangements.