'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.