The moral of Malin Kundang is don't forget your Mom<\/p>\n
Debra H. Yatim, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city is in for a treat this Friday (Dec. 19) and Saturday
\n(Dec.20), with a home-grown musical conveying a local story in a
\ncontemporary format.<\/p>\n
Malin Kundang is an Indonesian folk story well-known across
\nthe archipelago. It is the tale of Malin, the son of a poor
\nfisherman's widow, who, disenchanted with village life, leaves
\nhome to seek fame and fortune. Upon obtaining both, Malin
\npretends not to know his own mom, who promptly turns him into a
\nstone.<\/p>\n
\"A deserving end for offspring who forget their filial duty,\"
\nsays Tjut Nyak Deviana Daudsjah, the driving force behind the
\nproduction.<\/p>\n
Made into a three-act musical -- with a cast of 42 actors,
\ndancers and singers -- by the Institut Musik Daya (The Daya Music
\nInstitute), of which Deviana is founder and director, the
\nproduction Malin Kundang is designed to showcase the
\nachievements of \"serious\" music and arts education.<\/p>\n
This has been one of several dreams realized by Deviana since
\nher return to Indonesia just over three years ago, after a 26-
\nyear hiatus in Europe.<\/p>\n
After completing her studies in piano, composition and jazz
\nvocals in Freiburg, Germany, Deviana gained wide and significant
\nexperience: Her quartet performed at international jazz
\nfestivals; she wrote for musical dramas, cut several CDs, played
\nlive gigs and ran a school of music in Basel, Switzerland. She is
\nalso an accomplished coach and educator.<\/p>\n
Returning to her home terrain in 2000, Deviana established the
\nDaya Bina Budaya Foundation and Institut Musik Daya (with Nick
\nMamahit, the legendary Indonesian jazz pianist, and Farida
\nKadarusno, in her efforts toward securing Indonesian music a
\nplace on the international music map.<\/p>\n
Along with other activities, the foundation organizes the
\nannual Indonesia Open Jazz Festival, a serious festival aimed at
\nreminding the general public that: at the heart of all good art
\nare people who took the time out to study.
\n \"Natural talent is fine and good,\" says Deviana, \"but to really
\nput that talent to maximum use, one has to know where their art
\ncame from. Who, if anyone, has done it first. And whether one's
\nviewpoint has solid references.\"<\/p>\n
During her first six months back home, Deviana managed to rile
\nseveral established musicians, simply by her presence as a
\nprofessor of music who made sure those under her wing really
\nlearned how to read music, before doing anything else.<\/p>\n
\"How can you spread your wings in this field if you're
\nilliterate?\" she would say. \"How can you play other people's
\nmusic if you don't know what they've written? And, finally, how
\ncan you make your own music if you don't know how to put it
\ndown?\" A rallying cry that did not endear her to the teeming mass
\nof local musicians who learn to play music by listening to tapes
\nbought at the local music store.<\/p>\n
Deviana returned from Europe ready to do three things:
\nestablish a solid coterie of musicians through a serious training
\ninstitute, perform good jazz regularly, and produce a musical.<\/p>\n
It would seem that in less than three years with the Institut
\nMusik Daya, she has managed to achieve all three, and is ready to
\nbegin all the other things she has on the back-burner.<\/p>\n
What is unique about Malin Kundang is the fact that the whole
\nproduction is conducted by her students. \"Me? I'm only the
\nwriter. Oh yes, and I get to sing,\" says Deviana.<\/p>\n
As Tita Handayani -- the show's music director, and probably
\nat present Indonesia's only female drummer actually studying the
\ninstrument -- \"This is a crazy project, and I'm only in my second
\nyear. But wow! What a challenge to live up to Mbak (sister)
\nDeviana's expectations of me!\"<\/p>\n
Titi is modest enough to brush over the fact that she performs
\nregularly in Jakarta, gradually building up a repertoire while
\ncontinuing her studies, alongside Doni Sundjoyo, the show's
\ndirector, another star student and bassist.<\/p>\n
A preview performance at the home of the Minister Counsellor
\nof the German Embassy and Gabriele Sausen on Monday had audiences
\nraving. The performances on Friday and Saturday promise to be
\n\"surprising, at the very least\" says Indra Perkasa, the show's
\ncreative director.<\/p>\n
Although the folk tale has been staged at least five times in
\nthe last 30-odd years, this is the first time Malin Kundang will
\nbe presented with mainstream jazz, big band, house music, R&B,
\nhip-hop, and pop elements.<\/p>\n
The moral of Malin Kundang may be tough, \"What good ever came
\nout of anyone pretending not to know their own mother?\" asks
\nDeviana.<\/p>\n
And In her performance, she is careful to credit her own dear
\nmother Frederika Daudsjah-Ticoalu, as being her greatest source
\nof inspiration.<\/p>\n
Malin Kundang is being staged on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 at Gedung
\nKesenian Jakarta in Central Jakarta. Tickets are available at Bel
\nCanto (telp. 8316808). For further information, contact
\ndayagroup@cbn.net.id or www.geocities.com\/malin_kundang2003\/<\/p>",
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