School of theology develops experimental liturgical music
School of theology develops experimental liturgical music
JAKARTA (JP): Those tired of the "conventional" sounds of the
keyboard or piano in liturgical music can look to the Jakarta
Theological Seminary for an alternative.
The school's Creative Music Group has been experimenting with
unconventional musical instruments to accompany its choir -- and
many are impressed with the innovative results.
The school's choir gave its first ever performances in two
shows at the school in Central Jakarta last week. The concerts
were a final tune-up ahead of the choir's departure for a tour of
the Netherlands and Belgium on May 19.
The choir comprises 19 singers and musicians and two
conductors.
The choir has turned brooms, bamboo, gravel, plastic water
bottles, plastic bags and other everyday objects into musical
instruments.
"All of us are free to explore our musical talents. Members
select objects they find in daily life to use as musical
instruments," conductor Gracia L. Simanjuntak said.
She described how a choir member who was inspired by the sound
of gravel turned the common object into an instrument to be used
in the show.
The choir's other conductor, Ester Pudjo Widiasih, said the
choir was formed in November last year with the goal of
developing alternative liturgical music.
"We are of the opinion that the musical instruments used in
our religious rituals should not be confined to conventional ones
such as the piano and keyboard. We think we should also use
traditional instruments or simple instrument like we use now,"
she said.
In their performance last Saturday, the group performed 24
songs, including folk songs from Maluku, South Kalimantan,
Central Java, Minahasa and Irian Jaya.
The choir showed their strength lies in their creativity and
in the deft use of their various instruments. Their skill in
performing the music compensated for the so-so quality of their
vocals.
However, the performance was quite a remarkable achievement
for a maiden show. The performance won applause from well-known
conductor Richard W. Haskin, who leads the Indonesian-American
Friendship Association choir, which consists of expatriates and
local singers.
"I think they have yet to improve their vocal quality, but it
was praiseworthy for a debut performance," Haskin told The
Jakarta Post.
Gracia said the choir would learn a lot about performing
during their three-week overseas tour.
The choir was invited to perform by Dutch missionary group
Raad voor de Zending der Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk, which is
fascinated by the choir's innovative musical ideas.
"The missionary sees the group as being successful in
exploring local context for liturgical music," Ester said. (ind)