'Bungah': Milestone in history of local contemporary music
'Bungah': Milestone in history of local contemporary music
By Franki Raden
JAKARTA (JP): When Raffles and his troops first occupied
Batavia (Jakarta) in 1811, they were aghast that the city did not
have a building for the arts, says the Festival Schouwburg II
program in reference to the founding of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta,
Jakarta's arts center.
One hundred and eighty five years later, foreigners visiting
Jakarta are probably astonished that the cosmopolitan, capital
city has no concert hall. The plans to renovate the Taman Ismail
Marzuki arts complex on Jl. Cikini Raya, costing hundreds of
billions of rupiah, do not include a concert hall.
A new performance hall is to be built as part of the
renovation, but it will not meet the acoustic requirements of a
concert hall. That is why Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, which has been
renovated and upgraded several times since it was built by
Raffles in 1812, is still being used for performances by
musicians. It stands to reason that Trisuci Kamal, a prolific
Indonesian composer, was inspired to write a composition titled
Bungah which she dedicated to the anniversary of Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta during Festival Schouwburg II.
Trisuci Kamal wrote Bungah, which means happy and grateful,
for the Pivot Trio, comprising Ary Sutedja (piano), Grace Sudargo
(violin) and Eric Awuy (trumpet). The first part of the
composition, played by the violinist, reflects the composer's joy
and gratitude on the 9th anniversary of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
The theme is built on broad fourth and fifth intervals and is
extended over two octaves, creating the impression of glory; even
more so when the theme is played simultaneously by the three
instruments.
Trisuci's Bungah was the last item on the program. Its strict
structure, form and thematic development give the impression of a
neoclassical style, a variation from the composer's previous
works which were more post-impressionist. Another trait of her
compositions, the influence of gamelan music or Middle Eastern
music, is not clearly apparent in this work either, although the
melodic score, has a strong Betawi, Indigenous Jakarta, folklore
character in Bungah.
Regrettably, the Pivot Trio did not play the composition with
deep analytical insight so that idiomatic differences, at times
romantic, monumental, impressionistic or reflective of folklore,
that were strongly contrasted in parts of Bungah, failed to
emerge. A weakness in accuracy also made the texture too dense. A
lacking contrast in the trio's dynamism made their performance
rather superficial.
The Pivot Trio's weakness as an ensemble apparently stemmed
from an imbalance in their performance. Ary and Eric managed to
play in balanced proportion, but Grace's performance lacked
strength in expression and intonation, often making the piece
monotonous.
This problem was apparent when she played the post-
impressionistic Sonata for Violin and Piano by D. Gazelle, an
expatriate living in Jakarta. The imbalance between Grace's
performance and Ary's expressive piano playing was obvious. The
result was that the composition, which emphasized the violin, was
not played to perfection. Grace's articulation was often
indistinct, and she was unable to respond to the dynamics of
Ary's lively piano performance. This articulative failure was
sometimes disturbing because Gazelle's music is full of melodic
constructions, written with a systematic concept of intervals
which require clarity in performance. It otherwise sounds like a
series of notes that are structured without meaning.
Ary's strength as a pianist and an accompanist was fully
exploited when playing with Eric. Their performance peaked in a
romantic piece by G. Enesco. The music demanded technical
mastery, and Eric's virtuosity and precise articulation was
impressive, especially in its soft finale. Ary accompanied Eric's
brilliant performance with sensitivity, but she was emphatic in
the melodies which were played rapidly in ad libitum.
The two musicians also performed A. Geodicke's Concert Etude
Op.49 in close accord. But Eric's articulation in its rapid
melody was sometimes unclear. Their interpretation of Geodicke's
work also lacked flexibility, especially in the more contrasting
parts of the composition.
On the whole, the Pivot Trio's performance was pleasing. Their
program was impressive, their combination was unique and their
insight in having Trisuci Kamal write a composition for them
deserves special mention. The concert is a milestone in the
history of Indonesian contemporary music.