Trisutji, Singgih compose new Islamic songs

Trisutji, Singgih compose new Islamic songs

By Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): Perhaps a better description would be Indonesian Islamic music, for no doubt there are composers in, say, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and other Moslem countries who have written works in the same vein -- that is, with the religion of Islam as the basis for inspiration. The musical idiom of those countries is not altogether alien to me, but I am sure that the little I have heard would have been secular rather than religious. Neither do I know if there is a strict separation between religious and non- religious music in the Middle East.

In Europe, up to the end of the Middle Ages, formal music was rather the equivalent of church or religious music, while music for entertainment was frowned upon -- perhaps because the music of entertainers in those days crawled with what church fathers called "the lascivious mode" (mode being something like a scale) and "the devil's note". That sort of attitude has been out for centuries, of course, but to give you an idea of what lascivious mode is, the most famous Christmas carol Silent Night is written according to just that system.

But to get back to Islamic music, the first such works I heard was during the recent Festival of Islamic Art on Oct. 25, featured a concert of compositions by Trisutji Kamal and Singgih Sanjaya. Trisutji is one of Indonesia's prominent composers -- in fact, I cannot think of any other composer who is as productive as she is.

Of Singgih, I have heard mostly arrangements of popular Indonesian songs featured as encores of concerts by the Nusantara Chamber Orchestra of which he is a member. His Shalawat Nabi is the first serious composition I have heard and is written for orchestra and choir. Though it is still fragmentary and somewhat weak in resolving lines, Singgih has a commendable grasp of tone coloring.

Western

The musical background of these two composers is predominantly Western, and so was the music performed at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta by the Jakarta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yudianto Hinupurwadi. True, the elements of Eastern-flavored intervals was very prominent but these were blended with devices that are foreign to Eastern (not just Middle Eastern) music, such as harmony and harmonic progressions and modulation. In Indonesia, the use of such devices is not surprising if one considers that they have been around since the times when the Portuguese were here four centuries ago.

The pure Eastern characteristic, I would say, was the recitation of Koranic prayers and verses and the use of Balinese, Sundanese and Malay percussion instruments. For Indonesian standards, the setting of the music is very large and includes, besides the above instruments, a mixed adult choir and a children's choir. There were also two mu'adzin, whose task is to call the faithful to prayer, two Koran readers, a poetry reader and an interpreter. Well over 70 people crammed the stage at Gedung Kesenian.

The five compositions presented included two songs for soprano and orchestra, Tembang and Kepadamu Bunda (To Thee, Mother). Tembang refers to a classical Javanese form of poetry singing or reciting, which is traditionally accompanied by a gamelan ensemble. The style of this song reflected the highly polyphonic characteristics and intricacies of Javanese music which the orchestra had some difficulty coping with.

The second is written on conventional lines and is dedicated to the composer's late mother. Trisutji also wrote the lyrics to both songs. Rendering them was prominent Indonesian soprano, Binu Doddy Sukaman. I would say that these two songs were the highlight of the program and I am sure that they will hold themselves very well among the large number of similar works categorized as concert arias.

The two major works were Persembahan (Offering), a setting to music of poetry by Emha Ainun Nadjib, and Kepadamu, Ya Rasul (To Thee, O Prophet). These works featured all instrumentalists, vocalists, readers and chanters. I was wondering how Trisutji would resolve the recitation and chanting which would be void of any key or tonal systems (let alone a diatonic one), but she found the answer in having the choir members repeat sentences in what could only be described as sprechgesang (speak,sing in German), followed after a few moments by the orchestra. In this way all the elements were deftly accorded their place within the composition. It also presented a mosaic of tones and tonal colors that was both entertaining and spiritually uplifting. These two compositions were written especially for the festival.Kepadamu, Ya Rasul flowed better than Persembahan, but both could use tightening, especially the somewhat lengthy pauses in the recitations.

Another important aspect is that these works are very substantial and of very high standard. They are original Indonesian compositions, and, as far as I know, belong to the very few in public. Most Indonesian composers concentrate on music from the final decades of this century. It is just as well that both Trisutji's and Singgih's works are conventionally written. After all, universal music (it hasn't been the exclusive domain of the West for years) had to go through Machaut, Schuetz, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and so on, before reaching the age of John Cage and Philip Glass.