Thailand's Great King
This four-part series is intended to help Thai children learn to read, talk and write about their King in English.
You
can hear this section by clicking here.
Part 3: A very talented man
One
reason that Thai people are so proud of their King is that he is
able to do so many things. First of all, he is a very good musician,
especially a jazz musician. He has played with many of the world's top
jazz artists and they all agree that he is very good. Even at the age
of 78, he stills plays often with his own palace band. His favourite
instruments, among the many he plays, are the saxophone, clarinet,
trumpet, guitar and the piano.
His Majesty is also an excellent composer
and in Thailand you hear his music everywhere. Here are several
examples for you to enjoy: H.M Blues,
Yarm Yen,
Candlelight Blues
(in English). If you want more, you will find a very large collection
of his music here.
His Majesty is an equally accomplished photographer, a hobby that has interested him since received his first camera at the age of eight. His photographic skills have been very important in his work, as we will see in the next section.
Although His Majesty doesn't have formal art training, he is still a very proficient artist. As was the case with his musical compositions, he learned how to paint by himself, making good use of the art books he either bought or was given by artists. As you can see from these examples, he has produced paintings in a variety of styles. He also does sculpture, incidentally.
And that's not all. His Majesty was a good enough sailor to win a gold
medal with his daughter HRH Ubon Ratana in the Southeast Asia Games of
1967. Who designed his boat? He did, of course.
composer - a person who writes music
accomplished - very good at doing something
proficient - accomplished; skilled at doing something
variety - different kinds of things
sculpture - a type of art where you make solid figures or objects by shaping wood, stone, clay, metal, etc.