An Essay on Love (and the lack of it)

LOVE is the underlying theme for most of the works in my new CD, En Essay On Love. It is always my favorite theme, since it is the most powerful force in the entire universe. Without this preconceived idea of love, we would be acting like a blind person searching for the light with thousand of obstacles in front of us, although love, or to be precise the unrequited or the lack of it, is often the source of the most intense pain and sufferings in this world. But it is also the most mysterious existing word in our vocabulary. What is Love? I believe, all my music involving this theme is my own search of its meaning, since it could only be "explained" in music since it is too deep to be expressed in words. Like music, we don't understand it, and perhaps we don't need to. We just feel it. And like music, it is merely a product of a chemical reaction inside our brains. As simple as that, but the outcome could become the most complex thing that we humans could deal with. .............................................................................................................................................. The "main course" of this CD is my 3-movement Chamber Symphony no.1 "In Memoriam Ainun Habibie" which is a complex mixture between the brainy scientific issues and the intuitive passion of love. But there are other shorter works to complete this CD. .............................................................................................................................................. I wrote a series of works for wind instruments inspired by "Metamorphosis" by Ovid. Echo's Whisper for oboe & piano is the complementary piece for my work for flute & piano, Narcissus Dying. Ovid's masterpiece, together with Shakespeare's complete plays and Plato's Symposium (also a philosophical research about love) are the three books whose excerpts I always read, no matter how little, every night before I go to sleep. Echo and Narcissus is a tale about the nymph Echo and her human lover Narcissus. In short, the god Juno took away Echo's ability to engage in conversation as punishment for her misdeeds. Echo could only respond to questioning. One day Echo was at a pond which she frequented, when a human man came into view. This is Narcissus, and he instantly falls in love with Echo. But, since Echo can only respond to Narcissus, he begins to get aggravated. She cannot explain to her new lover why she must be so cryptic. Echo could only respond with the last words of whomever she was speaking or listening to. Narcissus then looked into the pond, and upon seeing himself, immediately fell in love. He was unable to control himself or his new "lover", for it was simply a reflection of himself. This was caused by the god Rhamnusia, for Narcissus had scorned the nymphs that had mocked him. Narcissus then began to weep into the pool, and his tears began to hide the reflection he so loved. He said "Goodbye!", and Echo responded to him "Goodbye!". Narcissus then lay down on the ground, and wept. When his friends went to retrieve his body, they found only a flower of white and purple. .............................................................................................................................................. Indonesia has great poets in abundance. In this CD there are 14 songs based on my favorite poems of my favorite poets: Hasan Aspahani, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Sitor Situmorang, Ready Susanto and Nanang Suryadi. Not only the poems inspired me, but also some singers each with their particular voices do too. Nikodemus Lukas Hariono "Nicky", Theodora Amabel Beatrice "Bea" and Widhawan Aryo Pradhita "Dito" are winners from various categories of the National Voice Competition "Tembang Puitik Ananda Sukarlan" 2013, and they won not only for their brilliant technique and virtuosity, but also because they have something to offer in their interpretation of the works they sing, from opera arias to "art-songs", from the baroque or classical up to the music of today. And coincidentally, they were all born and live in the same city, Surabaya. In fact, that city is also present visually in this CD, since the marvellous cover and booklet design and its layout are done by the young and highly talented Ryan Tandya, born in that city too. And the competition mentioned above was initiated and organized by Amadeus Performing Arts of that city. .............................................................................................................................................. Some songs were written purely because the poems itself ignite the music coming from the spaces between the words, some were written inspired by the voice of a particular singer (such as Whitman's O You, Whom I Often and Silently Come, by Nicky's voice), and some triggered a memory or a situation, such as Bibirku Bersujud di Bibirmu which was about the great Aceh Tsunami, or Dalam Sakit which triggered my memories of one of my best friends who died of AIDS. Therefore, when the AIDS Foundation asked me for a song, I immediately remembered this poignant poem by Sapardi Djoko Damono. These songs examine all aspects of love, such as the suffering of the unrequited love, either a heterosexual one in Nanang Suryadi's Seorang Yang Menyimpan Kisahnya Sendiri or a homosexual one in Whitman's "O You", a farewell either in distance in Pria yang (Pergi) Jauh or in death like Dalam Sakit both on poems by Sapardi Djoko Damono, or a highly erotic one in Sitor Situmorang's Surat Kertas Hijau. Of course I also touch on the aspect of happiness that love brings, such as in Salju di Musim Semi (Chendra Panatan) or Jemari Menari (Nanang Suryadi). .............................................................................................................................................. The CD "An Essay on Love" will be launched during the premiere of my newest opera, CLARA, on December 14th, 2014 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, TIM, Jakarta