My preface to my Transformations on Indonesian Children Songs

Children are the best learners. They catch and digest new informations so naturally. Through seeing, hearing and acting with the information, children record things and experiences that would benefit their future life. They then reproduce what they have just got, and apply it in daily life. Thus, songs are one of the best learning media for kids. Through songs, children would hear and then record the songs in their brain. If they like a particular song, they would try to sing along with it. What I mean "like" concerns both the melodies and the lyrics: they should be simple but catchy. This method could be applied in language and other learning processes. Language learning would help children to learn new things easier. ............................................................................................................................................ But what is happening now in Indonesia is that we have no more children songs like we, older generations, used to have. I used to sing songs by A.T. Mahmud, Ibu Soed and S.M. Mochtar (although I didn't know this latter's name, I just loved his songs a.o. "Kasih Ibu" or "Mother's Love"). ............................................................................................................................................ Now that Indonesian young pianists are clearly superior in technical capabilities than those in Europe, I felt the urge to give them piano pieces that deal with children songs from my era, back in the 1970s. My hope is that they would look at the original songs (now that there is youtube and other means to do it), learn it again and learn the lyrics too, since nowadays there are not many good Indonesian children songs being made. Indonesian children now sing American teen-idol songs, which is good for their English, but hey, we are Indonesian, right? ............................................................................................................................................ These piano pieces are just based on children songs, but are by no means playable by beginners. They are done for concert purposes, although they are indeed easier than, let's say, Rapsodia Nusantara. They are, however, lighter in character than the Rapsodia's, so they could serve as "encores" for a concert, if not being played in the main program. In the past I had written Variations on Ibu Soed's "Kupu-kupu" and Daljono's "Bintang Kecil" which were published in Alicia's 6th Piano Book, and since I enjoyed writing them so much, I decided to do more. Indeed, I had enormous pleasure doing them everywhere and every time I had some spare time. Most of them are in variations form, as I wrote each variations without knowing the overall structure beforehand and only order them when I thought I had enough material. Another thing is about the fugues, canons and other polyphonic writings, which I wrote during long journeys or waitings in airport lounges and just incorporate them in the piece on a later date. I hope (young) pianists would have as much fun playing them, and the audience listening to them, as I had writing them. @anandasukarlan September 2017

Forbidden Love, again... (article on Dali & Lorca last year on The Jakarta Post)

Sorry, I forgot to put this in my blog; it's been almost a year! So, here is the original article that I sent to The Jakarta Post : ............................................................................................................................................ The Power of Love, Metaphor and Death ............................................................................................................................................ 2016 is a significant literary year for Spain. This year marks two death anniversaries: the 400th of Miguel Cervantes (1547-1616) and the 80th of Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936). This is the reason why the Cervantes Institute with the support of the Spanish Embassy invited me celebrate this event in Indonesia by composing music based on works by these 2 great writers, to be sung by the rising young soprano Mariska Setiawan during the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, 25-30 October. ............................................................................................................................................ While Lorca has long been cherished by the hearts of Indonesian literature, Cervantes is still not, and that could be the indication of how Spain has missed the opportunity to use his name and works as a cultural asset during these 400 years. The Spanish language is not an excuse: Tolstoy, Goethe, Dante, even Rumi are more known worldwide while their languages are much less spoken on this planet. It is a curious coincidence that both Cervantes and Shakespeare died less than 24 hours apart: the Spaniard on April 22 and the British on the 23rd, 1616. Shakespeare has gone Hollywood several times, he is everywhere in classical music, ballets and operas and everyone on the streets quotes "To be or not to be, that is the question" besides his other famous quotes, while Cervantes' fame would only lie in Don Quijote. Needless to say, tourists going to the U.K. would make an effort to go to Stratford-upon-Avon to be at Shakespeare's birthplace, while Alcala de Henares has not established its name as a tourist destination as Cervantes' birth town, even if it's much more accesible since it is so close to Madrid than Stratford to Britain's capital city. ............................................................................................................................................ Lorca is a different case, and his dramatic death might contribute to his popularity. The two great Indonesian writers who studied, translated and were influenced by him were Ramadhan K.H (who translated the novel The House of Bernarda Alba in the 1950s and then followed by other works) and Sutardji Calzoum Bachri who explored the repetition techniques, such as in the poem Romance Sonambulo where Lorca used the word "verde" (green) repetitively in different aspects. ........................................................................................................................................... Green, I want you green. / Green wind. Green branches./ The ship out on the sea / and the horse on the mountain. / With the shade around her waist / she dreams on her balcony, / green flesh, her hair green, / with eyes of cold silver. / Green, I want you green. ............................................................................................................................................ It was Hasan Aspahani (b. 1971) in the beginning of this millenium that brought Lorca back to the Indonesian poetic scene. He translated his poems not to be published, but for personal studies although he uploaded them in his blog, which (accidentally?) became very popular. As Aspahani is not fluent in Spanish, he investigated several translations existing in English (made easier by the internet). He himself declared that he is a "traitor" : he didn't translate them truthfully, but he made his own rhymes. "If you want a translated poem to have beauty, you should be a traitor to the original poem". But the most Lorcian poet in Indonesia, according to Aspahani would be W.S. Rendra in his early works. Lorca has brought out the lyrical and metaphorical qualities in Rendra. They both fell in love with the landscape of hills, birds, trees, grass and leaves. Most importantly, they were very much attached to their own music: Rendra with the Javanese children's folk songs, Lorca with Flamenco dancers and musicians and even its instruments. Rendra also learned how the Spaniard used metaphors, such as in the latter's "The Six Strings" (one of his few poems about the guitar) that I set to music for this occasion: ............................................................................................................................................ The guitar / makes dreams cry. / The crying of lost souls / escapes from its round mouth. / And like the tarantula / it weaves a huge star / to catch sighs / that float on its black wooden tank. ............................................................................................................................................ This would then influenced poets such as Subagio Sastrowardoyo, and I am sure Sapardi Djoko Damono too, though he never mentioned it. ............................................................................................................................................ . An important aspect of Lorca's life would be his open homosexuality and his relationship with Salvador Dali, which complicated their lives during the Franco dictatorship. This contributed to his arrest and assassination by the right wing dictator in 1936 according to his biographer Stainton, although another biographer Ian Gibson stated that it was also as part of a campaign of mass killings intended to eliminate supporters of the Marxists. Lorca and Dali met when they were students in Madrid in 1922. Dali could not be open about it in their time, but he did admit their close friendship "although we never had sex" as he admitted more than once to his biographers. Yet there was the beautiful "Ode to Salvador Dali" by Lorca, from which I took 3 stanzas and set it to music too. It is a clear and poignant love letter to the Catalan painter, who responded it with a love letter recently discovered, with a sketch referring Lorca as "my St. Sebastian" who was tied up on a beach of Ampurias, where Dali lived. ........................................................................................................................................... In the music world, Lorca has inspired many composers far beyond the Spanish borders and of Hispanic backgrounds. Lorca himself was a musician; he studied music and even wrote some songs in his teenage years, considering a career in music and closely befriended the great Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, working together in some productions. His first prose works such as "Nocturne", "Ballade" and "Sonata" clearly drew on musical forms. Composers who have set his works to music include the Russian Dmitri Shostakovich, the Finnish Einojuhani Rautavaara, the Mexican Silvestre Revueltas and the American George Crumb (in more than 5 works). My "Two Songs on poems by Garcia Lorca" would be the most recent modest contribution to this list, based on Oda a Salvador Dali and Las Seis Cuerdas mentioned above. ........................................................................................................................................... (all fragments of poems are translated truthfully but unpoetically by me)

Celebrating Difference, Redefining Love (article about 100% Human Film Festival)

This edited article of mine appeared at The Jakarta Post, October 7, 2017. It's about the new movement, 100% Human (100 persen manusia) and their first film festival held in Jakarta, which you should not miss next time. I'd like to express my gratitude to its founder & programmer, Meninaputri Wismurti, for some additional informations that proved to be very useful for my article. So here is my original : ............................................................................................................................................ Celebrating Differences, Redefining Love ............................................................................................................................................ Recent events in the news suggest that the world is growing more insular and polarised. The tragic conflict in Barcelona during the Catalonian Referendum just last Sunday, with totally unpredictable results as well as that of Brexit exemplify how intolerance and divisiveness are spreading their tentacles in the northern hemisphere. Closer home, the brutal racial attacks in Myanmar and sporadic attacks in Indonesia also harbours deep prejudices. Ironically, as the internet have in some sense erased geographic boundaries, xenophobic tendencies are only growing more pronounced all around. Supposedly we connect with anyone from anywhere, but then we are more wary of the ‘other.’ Diversity and differences, in all its myriad hues, should in fact benefit both individuals and societies, but political parties and greedy individuals are trying to make sharpen them, and to trigger exactly the opposite to happen. ............................................................................................................................................ In the face of so much injustice nowadays, Indonesia's 100% Manusia ("100% Human") movement held a film festival in Jakarta, championing human rights, exposing differences and strive to prove that it is the element that unite us all and that's what makes us amazing. The festival raises awareness on racism, gender diversity, HIV/AIDS, physical / mental difabilities (this is the correct term for me; which stands for "different abilities") and other human rights issues. We who attended the festival deeply perceived their wish to convey that we still have a right to culture, peace and hope and not be afraid of it in the midst of the recent populist and "religious" movements in Indonesia (and everywhere else). It is time to heal the wounds and, in the words of Rain Cuaca, the director of the Festival, to "respect and appreciate plurality through the medium of art and culture such as film festivals, periodic film screenings, tours around the city of Jakarta and performing arts. This movement came about because we saw that the phenomenon of intolerance is increasingly felt in everyday life. Therefore, we want to create a platform of interaction to find the connections among the differences. We also believe that the sense of brotherhood is stronger than the hatred that stems from the inability of understanding each other and lack of empathy. This "100% Human Film Festival" is expected to foster a sense of tolerance between us." ............................................................................................................................................ The Festival was opened by Dr. Budi Wahyuni, Vice Chairman of KOMNAS PEREMPUAN (National Commission on Violence Against Women) on September 22nd at Goethe Institute, indicating that the violence rate against women in Indonesia is increasing drastically and we need a flexible platform to provide space for talking things out. The 100% Human Film Festival is supported by various human rights organizations, universities, difable communities, local & foreign cultural centers, film industry, dance companies. Its events took place at Theological College of Jakarta, Kineforum, 28th Pavilion, Kekini, Goethe Institut, Erasmus Huis, Institut Français d'Indonésie (IFI) and The British Council until its closing on October 1st at the IFI. Thanks to their contributions, all events at "100% Human" are totally free of charge. ............................................................................................................................................ Some movies received its Indonesian premiere at this 100% Human Film Festival. TAXI STORIES is a co-production film between Indonesia, China and The Netherlands and directed by Doris Yeung. PRIA (A Man) is about a village-boy who was forced to get married. Directed by Yudho Aditya, PRIA was selected in Melbourne International Film Festival 2017. KERETA SYURGA (Train To Heaven), directed by Mahesa Desaga told a story of two jihadist suicide-bombers that met on the train to heaven after finishing their 'task'. While favorite films screened include SOLD (USA, directed by the Academy Award-Winning Director Jeffrey D. Brown) which received the Audience Award at Palm Springs International Film Festival 2015. NOKAS (Indonesia, directed by Manuel Alberto Maia), selected in Singapore International Film Festival 2016 told a story how dowry still plays an important role in Indonesian marriages. DIE BEAUTIFUL (Philippines), directed by Jun Robles Lana won Best Film Audience Award in Tokyo International Film Festival 2016 opened the festival with Trisha's story on winning a beauty pageant for Transgender Queen and her obsession in make-up. All films were attended by representatives of the film and representatives of the Human rights organizations in Indonesia for discussion sessions. ............................................................................................................................................ Shanty Paredes, one of the Indonesian actresses who played in the film Taxi Stories that was already screened at various international film festivals felt proud that finally the movie is screened in Indonesia. "Today, where many consider diversity as a threat, the 100% Human Film Festival becomes an important platform in conveying the positive message of diversity and human rights issues through film media." ............................................................................................................................................ In the end, 1545 visitors in total attended the 54 films screened at the festival, according to Meninaputri Wismurti, founder and programmer of the festival. "100% Human" also held discussions and talkshows, art exhibitions by Oxalis Atindriyaratri, Eva Tobing, Alam Taslim, Emte and Leka Putra, as well as book discussions by writers Clara Ng and Feby Indirani. ............................................................................................................................................ Indeed, if we embrace a truly open outlook and are open to accepting differences, we realize that we find more commonalities with people from other groups, however, we may choose to define ‘group.’ After all, we all have multiple identities. Nobody is 100% heterosexual or homosexual. Nobody has "pure blood", as researches have proven that we are all Africans, and nobody is totally "left" or "right". Therefore, nobody is 100% "right" or "wrong". We are merely 100% human.

An Old Interview about "Inspiration" with seni.co.id (in Indonesian)

"The more things change, the more they stay the same" (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose). Everytime facebook pops up a memory of an interview with me in any media and I re-read it, I realize how true Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr was . So many new works have been written down since then, but I am still the same composer --and human. So, here is one from March 2016 at the online art website, seni.co.id . ............................................................................................................................................ Tolong sampaikan konsep dalam berkarya Anda secara khusus pada kami? ............................................................................................................................................ Ini tentu tergantung karya apa. Lagu yang panjangnya tiga menit kadang-kadang tidak perlu konsep awal. Misalnya saya sedang baca sebuah puisi yang bikin musiknya “bunyi” di kepala saya, ya saya langsung tulis. Tapi kalau opera yang panjangnya 1 jam lebih, ya harus terstruktur dari awal. Dalam kasus ini saya kerja seperti arsitek, semua saya rancang dulu: strukturnya, progresi harmoninya, kontras dan karakter tiap section dll, baru kemudian saya menulis not-notnya. Jadi kalau saya “macet” di satu section, saya bisa pindah ke section lain untuk nantinya balik lagi ke section yang “macet” itu karena saya bisa pegangan ke rancangan awal. ............................................................................................................................................ Kalau konsep secara menyeluruh, saya menganggap bahwa berkarya itu sebuah bentuk komunikasi tapi yang lebih abstrak (atau lebih keren: lebih dalam), karena apa yang ingin saya komunikasikan itu tidak bisa dilakukan lewat kata-kata. Tapi disinilah “jebakan” yang banyak seniman jatuh ke dalamnya: berkomunikasi itu berarti menetapkan karakter dan jati diri, bukan “menjadi orang lain”. Oleh karena itu saya sadar, seringkali musik saya tidak bisa langsung dimengerti, atau bahkan tidak disukai oleh beberapa orang. Sebab, saya ingin berkata lewat musik saya, “ya ini lah saya”. Musik saya tidak bertujuan untuk menghibur, atau memberikan apa yang dibutuhkan pendengar saya, tapi justru menyampaikan apa yang ada di hati saya lebih jujur daripada kalau dengan kata-kata, karena saya di sini tidak perlu “takut menyakiti hati”, “kata-katanya harus dihaluskan” atau bahkan “jaim”. Lewat musik, saya bisa bebas karena sama sekali tidak perlu jaim. ............................................................................................................................................ Dalam berproses setiap karya ada perenungan atau datangnya inspirasi seperti apa? ............................................................................................................................................ Lagi-lagi tergantung karya apa. Rescuing Ariadne untuk flute dan piano misalnya, panjangnya sekitar 7 menit, terinspirasi lukisan Titian di National Gallery di London, “Bacchus & Ariadne”. Sketch-nya saya buat di depan lukisan tersebut di museum itu sekitar setengah jam, tapi kemudian proses penulisan dan penguraian details itu makan waktu berminggu-minggu, diselangi oleh karya-karya dan proyek lain. Untung sekarang ada internet, jadi walaupun tidak diperbolehkan memotret lukisan itu di Gallery, saya bisa lihat fotonya di google kalau butuh. Walaupun kalau dari google itu saya biasanya sulit untuk “kesetrum”. Melihat lukisan aslinya itu yang bikin “kesetrum”nya kuat. Makanya walaupun saya suka habis berjam-jam di Google Art Project, kalau saya “tergelitik” dengan satu lukisan, biasanya saya datangi itu galerinya, karena saya butuh karya asli dengan segala dimensinya untuk bisa “menekan tombol PLAY” di kepala saya. ............................................................................................................................................ Kemudian ada ratusan karya saya yang terinspirasi puisi (kalau ini bisa saja saya dapat dan baca di Google), nah itu bisa tercipta dalam hitungan menit, atau kalau sangat kompleks seperti lagu terakhir saya “IRAS” berdasarkan puisi Adimas Immanuel, atau “La Ronde” dari puisi Sitor Situmorang, ya sekitar 3 hari. Lagi-lagi, karena ini panjang, butuh konsep awal yang jelas. He he .. iya, saya memang rada “control freak”. Saya kagum sama para pemain jazz misalnya, yang bisa sangat spontan. Saya pingin bisa seperti itu… ............................................................................................................................................ Anda sudah banyak karya-karya yang sudah dibuat, apakah sudah merasa puas atau belum? ............................................................................................................................................ Wah, sangat tidak. Kalau saya sudah puas, saya tidak akan menulis lagi dong! Menulis itu antara lain karena saya ingin membuat karya yang lebih baik daripada karya-karya sebelumnya. Makanya saya jarang mendengarkan rekaman karya-karya saya. Kalau saya dengar, itu terpaksa, karena: Pertama, Sedang dalam proses editing rekaman. Kedua, Saya ingin mendeteksi kekurangan saya apa di sana, dengan harapan semoga di karya mendatang saya bisa memperbaikinya. Ketiga, saya diundang oleh musikus yang main musik saya. Nah yang terakhir ini saya suka, karena dari tiap musikus saya belajar sesuatu. Setiap musikus yang baik itu justru melihat sisi-sisi yg lain dari karya saya, yang saya sendiri tidak menyadarinya. Itu karena proses musikus menginterpretasi karya adalah melihatnya dari berbagai sisi dulu, sebelum mengerti secara keseluruhan, sedangkan seorang komponis memulai dari satu sudut pandang, biasanya tanpa melihat sudut-sudut pandang yang lain kami teruskan deh menulis karya itu sampai selesai. ............................................................................................................................................ Tapi ada beberapa hal yang rasa tidak puasnya sih agak tidak sehat, misalnya waktu saya bikin lagu pop (pertama dan satu-satunya yang pernah saya bikin), untuk Judika, “Indonesiaku”. Coba deh cek di youtube, itu mungkin lagu pop teraneh yang pernah anda dengar, hahaha …. nah itu ranah yang saya ingin selidiki, tapi benar-benar sangat asing masih buat saya. Makanya saya sedang bereksperimen habis-habisan di opera saya Tumirah yang sedang saya kerjakan buat bulan Mei ini. Saya ingin menekankan satu hal: karya saya yang cukup “populer” bukan berarti karya terbaik saya (menurut saya pribadi). ............................................................................................................................................ Soal kualitas saya sendiri, saya bukan orang yang paling bisa menilai. Karya yang lebih kompleks juga belum tentu lebih baik daripada karya yang simple, walaupun saya sendiri menganggap Chamber Symphony (yang diminta pak Habibie sebagai pengabadian cintanya terhadap Ainun) yang super njelimet dan panjangnya 20 menit itu lebih baik daripada, misalnya, “Sadness Becomes Her” untuk biola & piano yang cuma 6 menit. Tapi “Sadness” jauh lebih populer, mungkin juga karena itu lebih “direct”. Saya juga menulisnya langsung dari awal sampai akhir, pas ada kejadian yang membuat saya sangat sedih, dan saya tidak meng”edit” bunyi yang ada di kepala saya; itu semua saya tulis 100% apa yang saya dengar. Tentu karena durasinya lebih pendek, jadi lebih gampang dicerna juga oleh pendengar. Karya-karya Anda itu memiliki pola khas sastra dikolaborasi dalam musik dan tumbuh dalam imajinasi yang liar. Mohon dijelaskan? ............................................................................................................................................ Saya memang doyan membaca, dan sejak adanya internet, bahasa Indonesia saya jadi mengental kembali. Sebelum 2004, musik saya yang berdasarkan sastra itu hanya dari puisi berbahasa Inggris dan Spanyol, dari Whitman, Frost, Becquer, dll. Karena ada beberapa penyair yang menjadi “favorit” saya — artinya saya sering membuat musik dari puisi-puisi mereka, seperti Sapardi Djoko Damono, Eka Budianta, Nanang Suryadi, Adimas Immanuel, M. Aan Mansyur — saya jadi sadar bahwa untuk tiap penyair itu musik saya jadi ada “style”nya sendiri. ............................................................................................................................................ Yang berarti bahwa saya jadi “mengerti” bahasa mereka kalau saya sudah terjemahkan ke musik, dan musik saya terbentuk atau “terkontaminasi” oleh bahasa puitis mereka. Saya menemukan diri saya sendiri melalui karya seni mereka, gitu deh pendeknya. Saya (hampir) selalu menuliskan proses kreatif saya di blog saya,http://andystarblogger.blogspot.com bukan hanya untuk mereka yang butuh mengerti musik saya (terutama para mahasiswa yang membuat thesis atau desertasi dari musik saya) tapi juga buat semacam catatan untuk diri saya sendiri untuk memantau perkembangan saya. ............................................................................................................................................ Anda tentu memiliki inspirasi yang menjelma dalam berkarya, siapa tokoh inspirasi Anda? . ............................................................................................................................................ Banyak banget, dan bukan hanya “siapa” tapi juga “apa”. Dalam mengalih-wahanakan seni bidang lain, misalnya puisi atau naskah drama, bukan hanya karya literer tersebut yang menginspirasi tapi juga penyanyi yang akan menyanyikannya. Biasanya penyanyi lebih menginspirasi daripada musikus lain, karena karakter serta kelebihan & kekurangan suaranya. Instrumen para vokalis itu ya mereka sendiri: pita suaranya, tubuhnya, karakternya. Semua keterbatasan seorang musikus itu buat saya malah jadi sumber inspirasi, termasuk disabilitas fisik. Saya telah menulis banyak karya untuk piano 1 tangan saja, atau beberapa jari saja… itu melahirkan bentuk musik yang justru unik dan bunyinya tidak kurang daripada musik untuk pianis berjari sepuluh. Misalnya seorang pianis punya jari 15 pun tidak berarti musiknya akan lebih baik. Karya piano saya Lonely Child itu ditulis, selain tentang anak yang autis, juga untuk pianis dengan 1 jari (atau 1 stick) di tangan kanannya saja.