Mor Lam - Regional Styles

Regional Styles

Isan has regional styles, but these are styles of performance rather than separate genres. The most important of the styles were Khon Kaen and Ubon, each taking their cue from the dominant form of lam gon in their area: the lam jotgae of Khon Kaen, with its role of displaying and passing on knowledge in various fields, led to a choppy, recitative-style delivery, while the love stories of Ubon promoted a slower and more fluent style. In the latter half of the 20th century the Ubon style came to dominate; the adaptation of Khon Kaen material to imitate the Ubon style was sometimes called the Chaiyaphum style.

The Lao regional styles are divided into the southern and central styles (lam) and the northern styles (khap). The northern styles are more distinct as the terrain of northern Laos has made communications there particularly difficult, while in southern and central Laos cross-fertilisation has been much easier. Northern Lao singers typically perform only one style, but those in the south can often perform several regional styles as well as some genres imported from Isan.

The main Lao styles are:

• Lam Sithandone (ລຳສີທັນດອນ, ลำสีทันดร) (also called Lam Si Pan Don ), from Champassak is similar in style to the lam gon of Ubon. It is accompanied by a solo khene, playing in a san mode, while the vocal line shifts between san and yao scales. The rhythm of the vocal line is also indeterminate, beginning in speech rhythm and shifting to a metrical rhythm.
• Lam Som is rarely performed and may now be extinct. From Champassak, the style is hexatonic, using the yao scale plus a supertonic C, making a scale of A-B-C-D-E-G. It uses speech rhythm in the vocal line, with a slow solo khene accompaniment in meter. It is similar to Isan's lam phuen. Both Lam Som and Lam Sithandone lack the descending shape of the vocal line used in the other southern Lao styles.
• Lam Khon Savane (ລຳຄອນສະຫວັນ, ลำคอนสะหวัน, IPA: lam kʰɔːn saʔvan) from Savannakhet is one of the most widespread genres. It uses the san scale, with a descending vocal line over a more rigidly metrical ensemble accompaniment. Lam Ban Xoc (ລຳບ້ານຊອກ, ลำบ้านซอก, IPA: lam baːn sɔːk) and Lam Mahaxay (ລຳມະຫາໄຊ, มหาไซ, IPA: lam maʔhaːsɑj) are musically very similar, but Ban Xoc is usually performed only on ceremonial occasions while Mahaxay is distinguished by a long high note preceding each descent of the vocal line.
• Lam Phu Thai (ລຳຜູ້ໄທ, ลำผู้ไท, IPA: lam pʰuː tɑj) uses the yao scale, with a descending vocal line and ensemble accompaniment in meter.
• Lam Tang Vay (ລຳຕັງຫວາຍ, ลำตังหวาย, IPA: lam a vɑj) is a Lao version of Mon-Khmer music, with a descending ensemble accompaniment.
• Lam Saravane (ລຳສາລະວັນ, ลำสาละวัน, IPA: lam saːlaʔvan) is also of Mon-Khmer origin. It uses the yao scale. The descending vocal line is in speech rhythm, while the khene and drum accompaniment is in meter.
• Khap Thum Luang Phrabang (ຂັບທຸ້ມຫລວງພະບາງ, ขับทุ้มหลวงพระบาง, IPA: kʰap tʰum pʰaʔbaːŋ) is related to the court music of Luang Phrabang, but transformed into a folk-song style. The singer and audience alternately sing lines to a set melody, accompanied by an ensemble.
• Khap Xieng Khouang (ຂັບຊຽງຂວາງ, ขับเซียงขวาง, IPA: kʰap siːaŋ kʰwaːŋ) also called Khap Phuan (ຂັບພວນ, ขับพวน) uses the yao scale and is typically sung metrically by male singers and non-metrically by women.
• Khap Ngeum (ຂັບງຶມ, ขับงึม, IPA: kʰap ŋɯm) uses the yao scale. It alternates declaimed line from the singer and non-metrical khene passages, at a pace slow enough to allow improvisation.
• Khap Sam Neua ຂັບຊຳເໜຶອ, ขับซำเหนือ, IPA: kʰap sam nɯːa) uses the yao scale. Singers are accompanied by a solo khene, declaiming lines each ending in a cadence.
• Khap Tai Dam (ຂັບໄທດຳ, ขับไทดำ, IPA: kʰap tʰɑj dam)

Below is a comparative table of regional mor lam styles, sourced from Compton (1979).