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)