Trisutji Kamal invited to Italy to play the music of Islam

JAKARTA (JP): Pianist-composer Trisutji Djuliati Kamal has been invited as an honorary guest to play Islamic tunes at the International Symposium and Festival in Fiuggi, Italy, next Friday.

The event, Donne In Musica (Women in Music), is being held by Italy's Donne In Musica organization, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12. Run by UNESCO, the organization records the works of women composers worldwide from the 15th century to the present.

"I guess I have received this honor because I aim for precision in whatever I compose," Trisutji said.

Accompanied by the Trisutji Kamal Ensemble, she will present five compositions at the symposium. The ensemble, comprising pianist-composer Iswargia Sudarno and soprano Fitri Muliati, will have Trisutji and Iswargia playing the compositions. They include Al-Ikhlas (a letter from the Koran), The Revelations of the Islamic Holy Month and Trilogi (Trilogy).

Trisutji said that following her concert on Sept. 11, she would mention the works of the Indonesian women composers, including legendary composer-singer Titiek Puspa and composer Aning Katamsi.

The ensemble will also play at the auditorium of the San Pietro a Maiella, in Naples, Italy, on Sept. 12 and is scheduled to hold a charity concert at the Teotro Manzoni in Rome, Italy, later this month.

The ensemble is playing on Saturday (tonight) at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Central Jakarta, 8 p.m.

She said her compositions were inspired by tajuid (the correct reading of Koran).

"The reading of each letter in the Koran has its own laws. It can be prolonged with a minimum of two beats. You could go with one-one-one beat, but that too has its rules," she said.

Trisutji said that giving a Koranic reading to music was always a challenge for her.

"With the addition of a beat, literally reading a line of a Koran letter itself would end up in conveying a different meaning. Imagine conveying the message via music," she said.

Trisutji, who has created more than 300 compositions, started to improvising on the piano in 1943 at the age of seven.

Last year she played her Islamic-laden compositions at the Seraphicum Building and the Academia Ponte-Ficio (The Academy of Sacred Music) in Rome, Italy. (ylt)