Aacha March

Aacha March (Galloping March) is a joyful concert march in which the composer imitates the characteristic of a horse galloping, thus the title of the piece “Aacha” which means horse in Thai. The composer composes original vivid melodies to be accompanied by the harmony inspired by Jazz through seventh and extension chords, and the usage of the tritone substitution.

Within the piece, there is a partial quotation from the tune of “Asawa Leela”, composed by master of Thai classical music, Montri Tramote (1900–1995). This tune is based on the Thai traditional melodies that are associated with horse movement. In Aacha March, the composer uses “Asawa Leela” through its original form, melodic development and transformation into the countermelody to be blended with the original melodies within the composition.

Furthermore, Aacha March calls for Thai traditional percussion instruments* such as Ching and Krap to be performed alongside with western percussion instruments to depict the scene and atmosphere of horses galloping throughout the piece.

*If the ensemble does not have those instruments, please use substitute instruments as follows: Finger Cymbals for Ching and Castanets for Krap.