'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.