'Requiem' awakens Jakarta for a night
'Requiem' awakens Jakarta for a night
By Gus Kairupan
JAKARTA (JP): It has, thankfully, been centuries -- perhaps more than a millennium -- since the abbot of the church of Glastonbury placed archers inside his place of worship with orders to shoot anyone in the choir who dared to divert from the prescribed modes and harmonic structures. The choir probably consisted of only monks and in those days there wasn't much structure: only someone singing either a fifth below or above the other.
Church music was held very sacred and kept very secret. A Miserere sung at the Sistine Chapel only on very special occasions until well past the mid-18th century was written down by a 12-year-old brat on a visit to Italy. He remembered every single note and word of the 9-voice composition.
Th brat's name was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is tempting to say that after that little incident the church threw open the doors to its musical archives, or discarded the modes and began to accept new musical idioms.
In fact, the church always moved with the times, and though organum is probably still sung at services, modern scales and harmony are very much part of church music today.
If the church had clung to the forms of old, the likes of Palestrina, Sweelinck and Vivaldi would have been condemned to the underworld. But one can speculate that from the end of the 17th century an appreciation for church music (or sacred music) began to expand beyond the adherents of Catholicism. People started liking it for its musical value and would flock to any performance, whether it be in a church or a concert hall.
Today, in the final years of the 20th century, the concept of spiritually goes beyond the beliefs or creeds one grew up with. A non-Muslim can get the same uplift from Trisutji Kamal's Islamic compositions as a non-Christian might get from Haydn's The Creation or Bach's B-Minor Mass or Gabriel Faure's Requiem.
The Requiem was the major work performed last Friday at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Cathedral as part of a series of events collectively known as "November - Month of Church Music".
A requiem was also presented last November because the event is meant as a celebration of All Souls' Day, the commemoration of those who have passed away. November is also the month in which the cathedral's choir, Sancta Caecdlia, celebrates its birthday. It is 130 this year. The cathedral, understandably, does not have a permanent orchestra so it engages musicians from other orchestras.
Last Friday's performance was conducted by Tommy Prabowo, who is also a pianist, a violinist, and a nuclear scientist or a computer scientist or both. The all-Faure program featured, besides the Requiem, his Pavane (for orchestra) and a composition for cello and orchestra, Elegie. Indra Notowidigdo performed the solos. Joseph Kristanto Pantioso and Yoana Fonny Chandra sang the baritone and soprano solos in the requiem. The Sancta Caecidia choir sang all the other parts superbly.
It was clear from the moment the oboe (Juhad Ansyari) opened the program with the hauntingly beautiful strains of the Pavane that the concert would noteworthy. As far as orchestral music in Jakarta is concerned it was a major event.
Like all things in Jakarta, it did have its problems. Seven violins (divided into firsts and seconds) against seven violas, five cellos and three double basses was a bit lop-sided, and it showed. Not that the violins were not up to the task -- they played and projected with strength. Sadrakh Hutapea merits mention as the leader of the group and, consequently, concert master. Even so, the violins somewhat overshadowed by the other strings and the French horns led by Irianto Suwondo.
There were four horns (only three were listed in the program) and their performance was nothing less than amazing for the strength and, more importantly, the confidence with which they played their parts. This is a most welcome change from the excruciating horn sections in the other three Jakartan orchestras.
Another stumbling point was the performance of cello soloist, Indra Notowidigdo. He is in his mid-teens, an age where it may be a bit difficult for him to understand and feel the passion of romantic music. He has talent and could reach considerable heights, although it is questionable whether he can achieve this in Indonesia. There are no good cello teachers in this country.
The problems, however, were minor and much of the success must be laid at conductor Tommy Prabowo's door.
Communicating with the musicians is one of the most important aspects when leading an orchestra, something Tommy accomplished. Able to play the piano, violin, organ and sing, he has a much wider knowledge of how to shape and color tones than other conductors. He does not confine himself to indicating tempo and he could become a major force in orchestral music in Indonesia.