Bayon (Band)

Bayon is a music group that was founded in 1971 in the GDR. Their music ranges from folk, classical, jazz and rock. The meditative character of the predominantly purely instrumental compositions to stimulate the imagination of the audience. For this reason the unit does not descriptive titles for the pieces. Many of them have common names such as suite or Nocturne.

Bayon plays with changing line-ups, the "hard core" of the founding member Christoph Theusner ( DDR / Germany ) and Sonny Thet (Cambodia) exists.

Name of the band

The group's name derives from the historic temple Bayon in Cambodia.

Band History

Christoph Theusner was taught by his father Egon Theusner early in guitar and lute. While studying architecture in Weimar he met Sonny Thet know, who had been sent by Prince Sihanouk to Weimar to study classical music there. Bayon was built in April 1971 from the formation Garage player (also called GP- combo), which had more of Blue Rock in the repertoire. The continued existence is based on the decision of Sonny Thet not to return to his homeland after the revolution in Cambodia. Actually, most of his family and former Bayon cellist Li Song Leng were killed by the Khmer Rouge.

In 1971 they recorded music for the radio, which went back to the initiative of the producer Louise Mirsch (such as the Suite No. 1 in the style of progressive rock ). At times, stood at Bayon concerts to eleven musicians on stage, as well as a complete brass section was used. From about 1976, the chamber music quartet emerged. Only in 1977 they released their first LP Bayon with classical adaptations and original compositions, such as the Suite No. 3 The cover shows the temple tower of the Bayon, with the stone heads wear the facial features of the four main musicians:

  • Christoph Theusner (guitar, vocals, flute, piano)
  • Sonny Thet (cello, guitar)
  • Sam Ay Neou (violin)
  • Reinhard Paetzold (bass guitar)

As early as the 1970s began Bayon music for the theater to make it so in 1979 for a production of The tractor / The Battle of Heiner Müller, later also for performances of Urfaust and Ulrich Plenzdorf ( stage version of Legend of happiness without end). In 1981 Bayon wrote the soundtrack for the film adaptation of the television of the GDR, Deep blue snow. In the 1980s, the group had joint appearances with the Berlin mime and dancer Anke Gerber. In 2006 was published in the soundtrack of the feature film The Lives of Others the song rendezvous in the middle of the rain new, used in the Bayon the poem attempt it by Wolfgang Borchert as text.

In 2010 Bayon was the honorary RUTH, the German Prize for World Music Award.

Instrumentation 2012

  • Christoph Theusner ( guitar, flute, piano, percussion )
  • Sonny Thet (cello, guitar, percussion)
  • Justo Gabriel Perez (flute, percussion)
  • Denis Cordier (drums)

Enlarged ensemble:

  • Reinmar Henschke (piano, electric bass)

Discography

LPs

CDs

Singles

  • 2009: Between (T) space time - A concert documentary
Folklore Singing Hammond organ Norodom Sihanouk Integrated Authority File
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