“Bangsokol” refers to a piece of cloth removed from the corpses of the dead by Buddhist monks, during a ritual to bring peace to the deceased. A Khmer word coming from the Pali “pamsukula,” the bangsokol is part of a Cambodian ceremony that prepares the body for the next life. From December 11-20, ArtsEmerson and Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) have teamed up to create “Arts & Healing: Bangsokol Virtual Festival,” inspired by the multidisciplinary production “Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia.” The original “Bangsokol” show was created to honor the 2 million lives lost under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, during the late seventies. Now, the virtual festival draws together film screenings, new music, and conversations with artists.
The idea for “Bangsokol” came about when a CLA board member approached composer Him Sophy, after hearing his rock opera “Where Elephants Weep.” Him agreed to develop a multi-layered production that would pay tribute to the victims of genocide in Cambodia. Both Him and filmmaker Rithy Panh are survivors of the Khmer Rouge and drew from their experiences of trauma to create the show. After touring in Australia, the United States, and France, “Bangsokol” held its Cambodian premiere in November 2019. Now, the virtual festival has come to Boston, inspired by the struggles brought about by the coronavirus. According to executive director of CLA and executive producer of the festival Phloeun Prim, the timing was somewhat intentional, as the creative team wanted to present a message of resilience and hope.
“The idea came quite early during the pandemic. We spoke about this around February,” said Prim. “Here in Cambodia, the situation had started to change around January, when there was the first case. We were looking at a theme not completely connected to the pandemic, asking what work could somehow illustrate or speak about the time we are living in. The idea of arts and healing started to come up, how the arts can play an important role in healing. The core of our work is genocide and conflict, how we’ve been able to use art to recover a post conflict society. In a post-pandemic world, what would that mean? ‘Bangsokol’ is a story not just of Cambodia but a universal story that can be used.”
As a production, “Bangsokol” draws together music, movement, voice, and visuals. The score that Him wrote uses “smot” chanting, a traditional form of Buddhist chanting used in Cambodia, as well as Khmer instrumentalists. At the same time, it also synthesizes these Eastern forms of music with a Western chamber orchestra and chorus. Meanwhile, Panh fuses real archival footage with surreal images. The libretto, or text, comes from Buddhist texts used in funeral rites. Following the narrative of the production, the story begins in the heavens, before moving down to Earth, where a funeral is being held in the countryside. This experience is interrupted by memories of the Khmer Rouge and the emergence of “hungry ghosts,” who are not yet at rest. The third movement invokes the bangsokol ceremony, which brings closure to the spirits and enables the living to find peace.
The festival began on December 11, with a screening of behind-the-scenes documentary “Wandering Souls,” which outlined “Bangsokol”’s creative process. On the following day came a panel discussion about the requiem as a musical form, in the context of Cambodia. On December 13, the full gala performance of “Bangsokol” at its 2019 premiere in Cambodia was shown to audiences, featuring beautiful music and powerful images. The following days presented performing arts panels on subjects such as creative partnerships with other countries, which made the production possible, and the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Finally, new musical works were written for the virtual festival, as well as a dance ritual that included participation from the public.
Festival curator Jean-Baptiste Phou emphasized that the “Bangsokol” production is an act of memory and that the artists have been a part of a cultural renaissance in Cambodia. To move forward into a new path, one must remember the scars of the past. Panh and Him’s experiences of the Khmer Rouge regime bring a deep meaning to the work, according to Phou.
“Both of them have lived through that period,” said Phou. “For Him, the way that he composed the music and addresses the trauma is to think about all of those who have disappeared, and it’s a way to honor them. …Both of them wanted to find a way to conclude that work with hope, celebration, and resilience. Usually, when you finish a requiem, it would be very silent, very calm. But in that production, it’s the total opposite. It finishes with something very upbeat, uplifting, a big drum celebration, like a village dance. It’s a way to show that life goes on. The Khmer Rouge wanted to erase culture – but they didn’t win.” He added, “To quote Rithy, the way to transcend that is to be able to create, to do this work.”
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