Evergreen helps give global color to 'degung'

Evergreen helps give global color to 'degung'

Her Suganda, Contributor, Bandung

Only few have realized that local music, particularly Sundanese
music, has put itself into the international music arena. In the
hands of professional musicians of Toronto-based Evergreen Club
Contemporary Gamelan, degung (Sundanese traditional orchestra)
has popularized Sundanese music with the international community.

For Sundanese, degung was traditionally performed to entertain
guests at a wedding ceremony or circumcision rite.

However, in a special performance on June 16, a contemporary
arrangement of degung managed to provide fresh and mesmerizing
entertainment. During the entire two-hour performance, around 300
people -- who packed the Sunan Ambu building of the Indonesian
Arts Higher Learning School (STSI) of Bandung -- seemed to be
awakened to the fact that local music still occupies a decent
place in the era of globalization.

The performance -- jointly organized by STSI Bandung,
Indonesian Education University (UPI) Bandung and West Java
culture and tourism service -- was enlightening to Sundanese song
composers.

"We should feel ashamed in front of them (the foreign
musicians) and learn the way they do," noted Sundanese artist
Enoch Atmadibrata commented after watching the first set of
Sundanese songs.

Eight degung players successfully brought to the audience a
strong Sundanese flair, thanks to artistic director Blair Mackay,
who closed the whole performance with Anjeun (You), composed by
Nano S. The performers received a standing ovation from the
audience, mostly Sundanese.

They admired the use of degung as the main means of
performance, which, when played with other instruments, mentally
transported the audience to the atmosphere enveloping the
beautiful and hospitable land of Sunda. Degung originally
consisted of waditra (instruments) -- bonang, cempres, jenglong,
kendang (drums), suling (flute) and goong (gong). Originally,
degung, the nayaga (players) of which used to be all male, was
only concerned with instrumental music.

Since 1958, degung was also performed with juru kawih
(singers) and allowed females to participate. More instruments
were added later: saron-I, saron-II and rebab (a two-string bowed
instrument).

Degung was known mostly as the art of Sundanese menak
(aristocrats). The performance was usually held in the public
hall of a regent's office. When Bandung regency was led by RAA
Wiranatakusumah, degung could be performed outside the public
hall if a special permit was obtained.

Thanks to Enoch Atmadibrata, Evergreen Club musicians were
able to get acquainted with Sundanese degung. No wonder that
Evergreen Club gave a special citation to this famous Sundanese
dance contributor.

It all began when Enoch was still teaching in the U.S. At that
time, Lou Harrison, his composer friend, asked him to find a
gamelan for Lou's students at Mills College.

As soon as the degung consignment was received on Feb. 14,
1983, the gamelan, dubbed "Si Pawit", was immediately used for
musical exploration by the Evergreen Community. When composer
Jon Siddall studied at STSI Bandung, "Si Pawit" was returned to
its owner in Vancouver.

Then Evergreen Club looked for a new gamelan. That was made by
Tentrem, the master gamelan maker in Surakarta, Central Java.

FX Widaryanto of STSI Bandung said, in his introductory
address, that with degung gamelan, Evergreen Club toured Canada,
Europe and the United States, performing the work of a number of
noted composers. Some of the works, he added, were even specially
created for a degung ensemble or degung-plus.

Composers whose work has been performed by Evergreen Club
include Walter Bodreau, John Cage, Lou Harrison, Jon Siddall,
James Tenney, Giles Tremblay, John Wyre, Evan Ziporyn and others.
Many of these works are available in CD form, including North Of
Java (Arjuna Records, 1992), O, Bali (CBC Records, 1993) and
Palace (Artifact Records, 1996).

A degung ensemble has also been used for musical illustrations
in a number of films. Composer Jon Sidall once studied at the
Indonesian Dance Academy (ASTI) of Bandung and took lessons from
Nano S.

The Evergreen Club's concert in Bandung was divided into three
parts. After a repertoire of Sundanese music, the club warmed up
the atmosphere with Canadian music. The performance finished with
music and dances.

Heavy rain had just stopped in Bandung but the degung audience
did not feel the cold. It felt warm, admiring the dancers --
Louis Aberge-Cote, Susan Lee and Jessica Runge -- who moved
agilely, interpreting with their movements the Surakarta gamelan
music created by composer Mark Duggan and the dance neatly
arranged by choreographer Maxine Heppne.

Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan was in Bandung after
previously taking part in the Gamelan Festival in Yogyakarta.
From Bandung, it proceeded to another leg of its journey:
Jakarta.

The performances by Evergreen form part of the activities to
commemorate 50 years of cultural ties between Indonesia and
Canada. More events in this context will soon be organized. As
this commemoration will last until 2003, artists of the two
countries may make exchange visits.