Royal Songs and Royal Singing: Music in the Norodom Sihanouk Archival Collection, Monash University Library (Essay‪)‬

English Abstract The Norodom Sihanouk Archival Collection was given by Norodom Sihanouk, the King of Cambodia, to Monash University Library (Melbourne, Australia) in 2004, shortly before the announcement of his retirement. It comprises diverse published and unpublished materials in multiple formats from the King's personal archive, covering his political and creative activities over the last half-century. A significant and fascinating component of the Collection relates to the King's own musical compositions and performances, comprising scores, recordings of his works and performances, manuscript song lyrics and translations, and other ephemera. The compositions belong to a genre of Khmer music that some describe as traditional popular song. They fall into two thematic groups: those with sentimental or love themes, which date from the late 1940s to the 1960s, and those treating revolutionary or political themes, which were composed in the early 1970s. The article describes the music materials in the Collection and their musical content and considers their potential research value from the perspective of their cultural and political significance, especially, how they intersect with and illuminate Norodom Sihanouk's cultural and political role in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. It also raises some issues relating to management and use of a collection which is eclectic, in multiple languages, has a popular music focus and comprises mainly self-published materials.