Sing like the (Indonesian) Angels ! (The Jakarta Post, July 14th)

Not much edited this time, except that the exclamation mark (!) at the end of the title is omitted (why?). But anyway, this article is full of data, and my own opinions and statements are found in the beginning and end of the article. One curious thing: it was already in print to be published on the 13th, but on the 12th I got another news from the facebook of Rainier Revireino and his STP Trisakti, so I asked The Jakarta Post to include it at the last moment. And yeah, we managed ! Anyway, congratulations to the choirs of Indonesia! ............................................................................................................................................. SING LIKE THE (INDONESIAN) ANGELS ! ............................................................................................................................................. by Ananda Sukarlan, composer & pianist ............................................................................................................................................. Many of us still associate choir with church activities. Ask any European about choirs, and the first thing that come to their mind are titles such as Agnus Dei or Salve Regina; the most secular would be Beethoven's Ode to Joy or Gaudeamus Igitur, that academic commercium song usually sung during graduation days. In fact, the underlying idea of choir activity is togetherness, either in times of joy or sorrow. We celebrate joy together, we mourn together, we pray together. But the Indonesians have one great asset : we have a huge resource of folkmusic to be developed, arranged and adapted for choirs. Most folkmusic are sung originally in a group, they deal with all communal themes and issues of the tribe and society of all ages. The elaboration of folkmusic for choir doesn't involve only the music: it can be (therefore, mostly it is done) accompanied with specific costumes and choreography not necessarily to be presented in their original form, as the music is not presented in its original monodic melody either. ............................................................................................................................................. The first half of July have brought so much upbeat news on the achievements of Indonesian choirs in competitions abroad. Not less than 6 choirs have shown their excellence internationally. Observing their success, it is clear that the folkmusic category remains the strongest point for Indonesian choirs, with their uniqueness in melodic scales, harmony and intriguing rhythms, many still unfamiliar for the Westerners. ............................................................................................................................................. The latest news came from the "Laurea Mundi" International Choir Festival and Competition, Budapest. Gema Swara Pesona STP Trisakti conducted by Rainier Revireino won the 1st Prize for the Mixed Choir category, and 2nd Prize for Folklore Grand Prix last Tuesday, July 12th. ............................................................................................................................................. Pangudi Luhur Youth Choir was awarded 1st prize at the children’s folk song choir category, 3rd Prize for senior children’s choir category, and due to their high mark was also awarded the Champion Children’s Choir of the World at Llangolen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, UK, 7-10 July. Best Inspirational Conductor of this year's event also went to their conductor, Sonja Simanjuntak. ............................................................................................................................................. Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta Student Choir (PSM UAJY) conducted by Raymundus Leonardo excelled at the World Choir Games (WCG). WCG's 9th edition is held at the Bolshoi Ice Dome at the Olympic Park, Sochi, Russia. PSM UAJY amassed 2 Gold Medals (for categories of Mixed Youth Choirs and Scenic Folklore Choirs) and a Silver Medal for Scenic Pop/Show Choirs category. Their special attraction lies, apart from their vocal techniques, in their traditional Dayak (a tribe from Borneo) costume, and using the traditional instruments sape and jimbe to accompany them while singing Dayak traditional songs Oh Adingkoh and Bawi Kuwu Tumbang Rakumpit. ............................................................................................................................................. Universitas Parahyangan Student Choir (PSM Unpar) this year stunned the audience and judges at the Bela Bartok 27th International Choir Competition in Debrecen, Hungary, 7-10 July. They clinched the 2nd Prize at the chamber choir cat. and 3rd prize for mixed choir cat. Their conductor, Ivan Yohan received the Special Prize for Excellent Conducting Performance. ............................................................................................................................................. Closer to home, the Medan Community Male Choir (MCMC) was awarded Gold Diploma Grade III for Ensemble Category and Gold Diploma Grade II for Equal Voices Category at the Orientale Concentus IX Choral Festival in Singapore held on July 1st-4th. Not bad at all for this very young choir, founded in April 2015 by their conductor, Ken Steven who also received the Outstanding Young Conductor Award. ............................................................................................................................................. The Resonanz Children Choir (TRCC) was awarded 1st prize at the Children’s and Youth Choir category, and was awarded Gold Diploma Level II at the Claudio Monteverdi Choral Competition 2016 in Venice, Italy. But that's not all. They achieved the highest score (94,5) among all participants, so they were awarded the Grand Prix. ............................................................................................................................................. TRCC was founded in 2007. Its members are mostly students at the Resonanz Music Studio directed by Avip Priatna. Its patron and advisor is Mme. Giok Hartono, wife of the owner of Djarum cigarette, Budi Hartono. Their strongest performance was when they performed Yamko Rambe Yamko, a Papua folksong , arranged by Agustinus Bambang Jusana and wearing costumes based on the traditional of Aceh. Bambang used the tifa (a traditional percussion instrument from Papua & Maluku) prominently in his arrangement, which makes it attractively rhythmic and colorful. ............................................................................................................................................. In moments like this is when the role of the arranger become very crucial. Arrangers differ from composers, their task is not necessarily easier: when composers write original music, arrangers work based on existing materials, working on it without losing the original character of the (folk)song. Bambang has been leading many Indonesian choirs throughout these years, such as University choirs of Maranatha (Bandung), Perbanas (Jakarta), Lampung University and many more and brought them to achieve many awards in some international competitions in Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy & Austria. Furthermore, he was awarded as the Best Conductor at an international choir competition in Riva, Italy in 2009. ............................................................................................................................................. And last but not least, behind a successful choir there is always a hardworking, persistent conductor that needs a kind but firm leadership. Devi Francisca is at the moment studying Children & Youth choir conducting in Hannover. It was in that International Youth Choir Competition in Hongkong that she was awarded the Best Conductor award, and she has brought TRCC to other awardwinning participations such as in The Golden Gate Choral Festival (San Francisco) and the 10th Cantemus Choral Festival (Hungary). ............................................................................................................................................. Busy Bambang also led Borneo Cantata from Samarinda who deserves special mention in their first attempt to compete internationally at the Internationaler Chorwettbewerb in Spittal (Austria). Although they have yet to grab any of the top awards, they received high points in the two categories they competed : 81 in Folkslieder (Folksongs) and 80 in Kunstlieder (art song). They struggled with fundraising issues even just days before they left to Europe, as many other Indonesian choirs who competed and didn't receive financial backing from institutions or sponsors. ............................................................................................................................................. In fact, choirs are the best Public Relations material for universities or institutions, since it is a great way of presenting performing arts and entertainment to (potential) clients. They are also a suitable instrument to discover and preserve numerous folksongs, many of them are in danger of being forgotten. As Franz Liszt did with his highly virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsodies or my own Rapsodia Nusantara for piano, choirs have the advantage of presenting the original text of the folksong, therefore preserving the original language, dialects -- and costumes too. And as the recent winnings indicate, those folksongs provide excellent material to be arranged into stunningly virtuosic showpieces. They generate royalty from the performing rights too, since although folkmusic and its lyrics are public property, the arrangement belongs to the arrangers 100%. Having an abundance of folkmusic, imagine how much they would contribute to the economy when the Performing Rights problems are solved in our country!