Burma's master of the arched harp
Inle Myint Maung
Inle Myint Maung, originally from the Inle Lake region, was regarded as Burma's foremost player of the saung, the arched harp at the heart of the country's classical tradition. That tradition is a repertoire of refined court song, the mahagita or "great songs," developed over centuries in Burma's royal courts. In 2000 he recorded an album of it in Rangoon with Daw Yi Yi Thant, one of Burma's most respected singers. He died in Mandalay in September 2001, and Smithsonian Folkways released the album in 2003 as Mahagitá: Harp and Vocal Music of Burma.
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