Ethnomusicologist sings praises of local tunes
By Achmad Nurhoeri
JAKARTA (JP): An intent speaker spontaneously uttered "Aduh," at a press conference last week. The presenter was asked a question by a local reporter who mustered his question with a very thick, strong Javanese accent. The presenter subsequently scratched his grayish hair and again reiterated the very interjection which is the Indonesian equivalent of "Ouch" before he answered. "Aduh," and he enunciated in expressive Bahasa Indonesia. With no vexing accent, whatsoever.
If he had been Indonesian, it would have been no big deal. But the man was far from your average Indonesian Joe. On the contrary, he seemed as American as apple pie. He was introduced as Philip Yampolsky, a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution.
As the conference moved on, the audience realized he was the editor and main man behind the ambitious project called Music of Indonesia series which will be launched in Indonesia this morning. Needless to say, the very Indonesian interjection Aduh was hardly an indication of his extensive knowledge of Indonesia's rich collection of melodies.
"Indonesian music is so astounding. I really want to amaze outsiders with the music coming from places in Indonesia," said 52-year-old Yampolsky who has trekked through 25 of Indonesia's 27 provinces.
The Music of Indonesia series is a project that will collect various musical forms from throughout the archipelago and pack them into 20 albums, each unique from the other. Twelve volumes are currently on sale in the United States with the Smithsonian Folkways label. The volumes being launched in Indonesia today are the first six. Yampolsky and his crew from the Indonesian Performing Arts Society (MSPI) have eight volumes to finish this year, the final year. However, after managing to record unimaginable sounds from isolated places on Flores island, Nias and even from the mountains of Irian Jaya, no feat seems too strenuous for this audacious pack.
Yampolsky's was the first name chosen by the Ford Foundation, the benefactor of the project, to lead the scheme when the Smithsonian Institution did not have an Indonesian ethnomusicologist. The project itself began after the foundation pushed a proposal to the scientific institution in 1988.
"Back then, there were not many experts who studied Indonesian music holistically. I was one of the few who did have experiences with Indonesian music from Java and Sumatra. So, they thought I was the right one to edit a series on Indonesian music," explained Yampolsky, who had his first encounter with Indonesian music in 1963 and flew to Java in the 1970s, propelled by his desire to indulge himself with the gamelan orchestra.
And what better choice than picking someone who adores the music than this ardent gamelan aficionado? Yampolsky's love for Indonesian music was cultivated through the years spent obtaining his master's degrees at California Institute of the Arts under the auspices of gamelan pundit Ki Warsitodiningrat.
Choice
In the beginning, he did not consciously choose to become an Indonesian ethnomusicologist or even to dwell in the field of music. It was his teacher at Columbia University who helped him change direction, from English literature to West African music. He became completely absorbed in the unique music of the black continent.
After getting his bachelor's degree in 1968, he decided to continue his studies in music at CalArt, where he first became acquainted with Javanese gamelan.
"I felt it (the study of music) more enchanting. It enlivened every part of my brain," reminisced Yampolsky, whose wife is from Surakarta and teaches Indonesian at Yale University.
"And in the process, I fell in love with Indonesian music," said Yampolsky, the first foreign consultant at the pioneering ethnomusicology department at Medan's University of North Sumatra.
Is it something like witing tresno jalaran suko kulino (Love grows more while knowing it more)? "Memang (indeed)," said Yampolsky.
His initial search for music in Indonesia was done in a bit of hurry, considering there are zillions of musical forms in the country. Smithsonian wanted the taped music for the Indonesian- American Cultural Festival (KIAS) in 1991. The KIAS tour of America was to play at the Washington-based institution in July 1991 and that was Yampolsky's first deadline.
He started his work in 1990 after finding the perfect ally, the MSPI. He did not want to stray too far from Java because of the deadline. The first destination was Banyuwangi, a town located on the east coast of Java where ferries cross over to Bali island.
"We daren't go far from Java. Moreover, I had always had a desire to record Banyuwangi music. I failed in the 1980s because of a lack of equipment," he said.
The deadline was met. Three volumes were well received at the festival. The Banyuwangi record, The Songs Before Dawn, were introduced along with the second volume, Indonesian Popular Music which had dangdut king Rhoma Irama in black rockstar attire on the cover and the third, Music from the Outskirts of Jakarta.
After KIAS, Yampolsky's desire to search for more unique music in Indonesia was in top gear. He roamed all over the archipelago. With one or two MSPI people and sophisticated digital audio tape recording equipment, he strolled over plains on Flores island, through Kalimantan jungles, and valleys of West Sumatra for the sake of a blissful sound bite. Sometimes, the team discovered music unfamiliar to their ears. Sometimes the locals watched them suspiciously. Most of the time, they had to record on the spot with the surrounding cacophony as a complimentary symphony.
"There were always finding thrilling things along the way. So many times I encountered music unimagined before, like the Flores chorus or the Ajeng of Karawang," he elaborated. "I was very pleased when I could record the songs before dawn at Banyuwangi. I wanted to tell others that there existed a music so tranquil ... so calm."
Yampolsky did not boast of success at all through our interview. "Our approaches sometimes did not work. The locals sometimes just did not understand the purpose of recording," the Washington-born explained.
"But I cannot recall any which totally failed. When we were in Kalimantan once, we failed to record some traditional funeral music," he said. The team could not record due to the locals' belief that the music only can be played when someone dies. They refused to play for any other reason. They did not scorn us. They just wanted their belief to be acknowledged," he explained.
"At that time nobody died, and we just couldn't order someone to die for our own purpose," he quipped.
If one can pick a time to alleviate the existence of Indonesian traditional music, there is no better time than today when the vigorous tentacles of the popular music industry is dominating the nation with trends uniformly dressed for all nations. However, for Yampolsky, pop music is not what he fears the most.
"There is this deceiving perception spread by the mass media and Jakartans that says music from the villages is less modern. Hillbilly-like," he explained. "This comes from city people who like to brag about themselves, saying that their way of living is the most sophisticated way."
He told The Jakarta Post that this kind of perception encourages youth to shun traditional music. "They define rural culture as outdated. Young people do want to be outdated."
Yampolsky also elucidated the fact that some who intend to preserve the culture often worsen the situation. "They tell traditionalists that their culture is lacking something, is not refined enough. Not clean enough. Not glamourous enough for urban consumption," he said. "As a result even the traditionalist finds his art unsuitable. The young heirs then neglect the culture. They are not proud of it."