Trisutji Kamal launches books with concert
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian pianist and composer Trisutji Kamal will launch three books on her creations encompassing more than 35 years of work, inspiration and self-reflection.
The three books, titled Younger Years Selected Compositions, Indonesian Folk Melodies and Sunda Seascapes, will be launched to coincide with a piano concert at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on Aug. 29.
The concert will feature 10 prominent pianists, such as Laksmi Pamuncak, Ade Simbolon, Iswargia R. Sudarno, Irawati M. Sudiarso, Aisha Petchner, Miwako Fukushi as well as Trisutji. They will play selected pieces from Trisutji's greatest compositions.
Trisutji, who graduated from the Conservatorium Santa Cecilia in Rome in 1965, said she began composing when she was only seven years old.
"But I only played the compositions in front of my mother, not even my father was allowed to hear them," she said with a laugh, adding that her earliest creations had been lost.
To preserve her later compositions, Trisutji, supported by noted Indonesian pianist Ananda Sukarlan, decided to publish them into three books.
"Many compositions by Indonesian composers have been lost because they did not document their creations, such as those by Amir Pasaribu and the late Yazeed Djamin," Ananda told The Jakarta Post.
He said that the published works of Indonesian composers are a musical treasure and they could by played and studied by the next generation.
Younger Years is a compilation of 10 of Trisutji's compositions created between 1950 and 1955, while she was growing up in Binjai, a town 22 kilometers east of Medan, North Sumatra.
"Compositions from my teenage years were greatly influenced by my Javanese upbringing. Although I grew up in a community thick in the Melayu and Batak Karo cultures, my first compositions were a synthesis of all that and a Javanese pentatonic," Trisutji said.
The compositions include Gending, Mengayun-ayun (Swinging), Tarian Fantasi (Fantasy Dance), Nyanyinan (Song), and Serenada Seorang Pengemis (Beggar's Serenade).
Other compositions showed a strong influence from classicists Debussy, Ravel and Chopin, including Kepergian (Departure), Nocturne, Sungai (River), Senja (Dusk), and Tiupan Angin Malam (Night Wind Blows).
The second book in the series, Indonesian Folk Melodies, comprises 26 compositions of traditional Indonesian songs arranged for the piano.
Trisutji said the compositions in the second book were the result of intensive studies before Europe, in Rome, and after her return to Indonesia in 1967.
"I wanted to introduce traditional Indonesian music to a wider audience, give a new perspective on both popular and not-so- popular songs, and at the same time provide scores for piano students and professionals," she said.
Ananda Sukarlan said that Trisutji's compositions were rooted in her cultural background. "Anyone hearing the harmonies and melodies could immediately relate them to Indonesia," he said, comparing Trisutji with the child in Walt Whitman's poem There was a Child Went Forth, "she sees everything and she became".
In Sunda Seascapes, her third book, Trisutji relates her amazement at the beauty of nature in Anyer where she spent much of her time in 1990.
"My experiences there were amazing, I swam in the sea by the light of the full moon, I was enthralled (by nature)," she said.
The book compiles seven compositions for the solo piano, titled Nuansa Selat Sunda (Nuances of the Sunda Strait), Misteri Pulau Sanghyang (Mystery of Sanghyang Island), Pasang Surut (Rise and Fall), Cumbuan Bulan dan Laut (Kiss of the Moon and Sea), Gitaya Samudra (Ocean Hymn), Senja di Pantai Anyer (Dusk at Anyer Beach), and Angin Barat (West Wind).
For the moment the books are only available on order, and there will be a special price for those purchasing the books during the launch.
--For more information, please contact Trisutji Kamal at Jl. MPR V No. 15, South Jakarta 12430 or tel. 021-7657785.