Rare Indonesian music presented

Rare Indonesian music presented

JAKARTA (JP): More than 1,000 cassette and video recordings of rare traditional Indonesian music, the fruit of more than 25 years work by two Australian professors, were presented to the Indonesian government yesterday.

The collection, produced by Margaret Kartomi, head of the music department of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and her husband Dris Kartomi, was presented by Amelia McKenzie of the Australian embassy to Director General of Culture Edi Sedyawati.

Edi said at the ceremony that the collection was very valuable because it provides comprehensive background on traditional Indonesian music from 25 of the country's 27 provinces.

"It is a great contribution for the preservation and the development of our cultural heritage and I hope it will encourage us to continue this effort," Edi said.

Since l970 the Kartomis have been recording traditional Indonesian music. The collection, entitled The Kartomi Field Collection of Indonesian Music, belongs to Monash University. The tapes presented yesterday were duplicated with funds from the Australia-Indonesia Institute.

Edi said the provision of copies to Indonesia was required of the researches by the Australian government. "We have the property rights to Indonesian traditional music. Therefore it is our obligation to protect it," she said.

The collection is to be entrusted to the National Library of Indonesia.

McKenzie said the archive could become a part of the valuable reference materials that researchers, teachers and students need for their studies and an important culture asset for the Indonesian people.

A number of Indonesian scholars have already documented Indonesian ethnic music.

In the l950s and l960s, Gito Martoyo of state-owned Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) began recording traditional music and dances from the country's 27 provinces. However, the documentation, including written articles and photos, were destroyed in a fire at RRI's building a few years ago. (raw)