Srivijaya

Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was a powerful ancient Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern-day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6 months. The first inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the Kedukan Bukit Inscription around Palembang in Sumatra, dated 683. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century due to various factors, including the expansion of the Javanese Majapahit empire. Srivijaya was an important center for Buddhist expansion in the 8th to 12th centuries. In Sanskrit, Sri means “shining” or “radiant” and Vijaya means “victory” or “excellence”.
After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten and so historians had never considered that a large united kingdom could have been present in Southeast Asia. The existence of Srivijaya was only formally suspected in 1918 when French historian George Coedès or the École franchise d’Extreme-Orient postulated the existence of the empire. By 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin proved that the center of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between Bukit Seguntang and Sabokingking (situated in what is now the province of South Sumatra, Indonesia).

This piece is an intermediate level for wind band based on Southern Thai folk music melody and Pentatonic Melody from the composer himself The 20th centuries techniques for wind and percussion instruments were used thoroughly in the composition along with the Romantic idiom to connect with the story from composer’s imagination. Thai elements and techniques are the main material of this composition. It used to reflect the Thai influence in classical western music in the ’80s-’90s style.