Rahayu Supanggah: the legacy of an Indonesian and global composer

ABSTRACT

This article discusses contributions to contemporary gamelan composition by Indonesian composers of Javanese heritage representing two generations: Rahayu Supanggah and his student, Peni Candra Rini. Supanggah was an internationally-famed composer and a pioneer of experimental gamelan music, who extensively engaged in writing music for large, multi-media productions for theatre and film. This study examines three of his opuses that particularly well display the inner workings of these complex forms: I La Galigo (directed by Robert Wilson), Opera Jawa and Setan Jawa (directed by Garin Nugroho). Candra Rini is a rising international artist of a new generation who specialises in vocal compositions that also utilise multi-media, especially dance and video. Her most recent composition was written for Kronos Quartet. This analysis demonstrates how traditional and experimental elements are intertwined in the work of these two composers, and how both artists—through their style, selected media and international collaborations—claim their place in the global experimental music scene.

KEYWORDS:

• Indonesian music
• gamelan
• contemporary music/musik baru
• Rahayu Supanggah; Peni Candra Rini
• ethnomusicology

Acknowledgments

I especially thank mbak Peni Candra Rini for several inspiring conversations and for her willingness and graciousness in discussing the work of Bapak Rahayu Supanggah as well as her own compositions and experiences as an Indonesian female composer. I also thank Chris Miller and Pujangga Laras for making available the digital recording of the performance of Rahayu Supanggah’s composition Gambuh (2009).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 See also the podcast in Polish about Rahayu Supanggah by Poplawska (2020).

2 Gamelan is a large ensemble of bronze gongs, key metallophones, drums, flutes, zithers, fiddles, xylophones. It also includes vocalists (male and female). See Sumarsam 1995 and Brinner 1995 for the history and inner workings of traditional gamelan music.

3 See Jody Diamond’s entry on Supanggah in Grove Music Online (2001).

4 Collaborators include, notably Barbara Benary, Peter Brook, Philip Corner, Dwiki Dharmawan, Suka Hardjana, Sardono Kusuma, Vincent McDermott, Retno Maruti, Sal Murgiyanto, Garin Nugroho, Alec Roth, Ong Keng Sen, Slamet Abdul Sjukur, Suprapto Suryadarmo, Toshi Tsuchitori, Kronos Quartet, and others (Diamond 2001). His collaborators also include Jody Diamond, Warner Kaegi, Katsura Kan, Sergio Leone, Alain Recoing, Hajar Satoto, Neil Sorell, Sunaruno, Agus Tasman, the Asian Fantasy Orchestra.

5 For developments in contemporary Indonesian (gamelan) music see: Roth (1986), McDermott (1986), Mack (1995, 2021), Hardjana (2000, 2004), Notosudirdjo (2001), Sukerta (2019).

6 See Miller (2014: 7–9) and McGraw (2013: 11–12) for a detailed discussion of these terms in Indonesian context.

7 Especially known for making new instruments is Aloysius Suwardi. See Hand 2018 on his experimental piece Planet Harmonik, which had its European premiere in January 2018. See also Warde 2003 for the analysis of Suwardi's piece “Debah” (1983).

8 Gambuh as well as Dandanggula are Javanese poetic metres.

9 As just one example, Supanggah created many versions of music for his theatrical works. This practice is quite common among Indonesian composers of traditional music background. See McGraw (2013: 141, 161).

10 Photographs of the performances of these works are available for view at selected websites (see References section).

11 See Hamilton 2007 for a review of the performance. See McGraw (2013: 232–33) for an analysis of the asymmetrical relationship in this ‘contemporary intercultural project’. See Morey and Salgado 2002 on the work of Robert Wilson.

12 For details on instruments see Supanggah (2004) and http://www.wnbc.com/lincolncenter/4670660/detail.html (accessed 15 May 2020).

13 I had an opportunity to view the performance in its showing in the New York City in 2005. The impression of ‘wholeness’ of the experience was recounted to me by several fellow viewers.

14 The entire film, with English subtitles, can be seen on YouTube by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBmsqK4Y8a0&t=5634s (accessed 3 November 2023).

15 See Budiman et al. (2013) for an analysis of Opera Jawa as a narrative text, working from a semiotic perspective.

16 Sumarsam defines Langendriya as ‘a combination of singing, dancing, choreography, and drama’ (2013: 62). While Langen Mandra Wanara is based on the story of Ramayana, Langendriya employs the story of Damarwulan. Langen Mandra Wanara is performed in a characteristic squatting position. See also Sutton (1991) on different gamelan traditions in Java.

17 Keroncong is a small guitar (ukulele), which is of Portuguese origins. It is usually associated with a genre of popular music of the same name.

18 See, for example, Kalinak 2010, for the recounting of the narrative roles of music in film.

19 Palaran is a vocal form that uses only the accompaniment of soft-style instruments; it can be sung by female or male vocalists. Bedhaya is a genre of court dances of central Java; usually performed by nine dancers. The most sacred bedhaya dances are performed only on certain occasions.

20 See a detailed list of genres used in particular scenes of Opera Jawa as recounted by Muhammad Nur Salim in ‘Kreativitas Rahayu Supanggah pada Film Opera Jawa Karya Garin Nugroho’ (2020: 162–65).

21 This was confirmed by Waluyo in a personal communication to me (ISI Surakarta, September 2023).

22 The Qur’anic recitation appears on the CD album Music of Opera Jawa (a piece titled Toli toli pole), which contains music written for the film and its theatrical realizations; it is not featured on the soundtrack of the film itself.

23 In a similar context, these references appear in a Senegalese film Karmen Geï (directed by Joseph Gaï Ramaka, 2001).

24 Text from the English subtitles of the film’s final scene.

25 See: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/10/12/setan-jawa-a-celebration-of-image-and-sound.html

26 Setan Jawa was presented at different venues and setups, sometimes with varying casts of musicians: with Metropolitan Festival Orchestra in Singapore and The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam (2017), the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (2018), and with a live 3D sound, in collaboration with sound designer Yasuhiro Morinaga and Japanese popular-music singer KOM_I (2019). In 2020, it was to be shown in Paris, however, the performance got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The showing finally happened in March 2023.

27 Music for the film won a prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Original Score.

28 Music for Opera Jawa was composed before the film was finished, which posed some problems and required readjustments (Candra Rini, 18 May 2020). For example, some scenes were of different length than initially planned or ended up in different places in the film. Therefore, the musical accompaniment, which was tailored to the scenes of the story, had to be adjusted accordingly.

29 This has peaked in December 2021, when gamelan was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

30 See Konser komposisi karawitan karya Rahayu Supanggah [Concert of R. Supanggah’s compositions] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b42APL2u3gw&t=3026s

31 See, for example, an article in Solopos (11 November 2020): https://www.solopos.com/kabar-duka-komposer-rahayu-supanggah-tutup-usia-1091024

32 Waluyo, ISI Surakarta (personal communication, September 2023).

33 See Peni Candra Rini’s website for details: https://penicandrarini.com/about/

34 Candra Rini’s musical collaborations with dancers also include a work called Bhramara (Bee, 2021). Nine renowned Indonesian dancers, including Maria Darmaningsih and Didik Nini Thowok, performed to her music during the height of the pandemic. Each artist was recorded separately, maintaining the rule of social distancing.

35 Quoted from Minarti’s film description on YouTube, 1 September 2013: ‘Ontosoroh – Peni Candra Rini (IND) & Ade Suharto (AUS) Trailer’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0S8xod1Ktg (accessed February 25, 2022).

36 See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trzyKlSjS0o

37 The work was premiered by Kronos in October 2021.

38 Piano in this case stands for universalism of music expression (Peni Candra Rini, 23 February 2022). The work bears Candra Rini’s characteristic of vibrant and varied vocal part and is musically complex.

39 Puppet theatre, traditional cloth made with dye and wax, and a traditional dagger.

40 Waluyo, Aton Rustandi, ISI Surakarta (personal communications, September 2023).

41 See in particular the work of Andrew McGraw (2009, 2013) and Christopher Miller (2005, 2006, 2014) who comprehensively research and analyse Balinese and Javanese contemporary music, connecting it to Euro-American trends but also giving a thorough account of diverse local inspirations. See also Heffley 2021 on Asian female musicians and composers and his other work available on the website: https://wesleyan.academia.edu/MichaelHeffley.

42 See, for example, Miller’s unpublished conference paper (2006), in which he critiques superficiality of frequent attribution of ‘western’ influence on non-western experimental music.

Additional information

Funding

This article was written as part of the OPUS-19 research project (no. 2020/37/B/HS3/03379) funded by the National Science Centre Poland [grant number 2020/37/B/HS3/03379].

Notes on contributors

Marzanna Poplawska

Marzanna Poplawska holds a Ph.D. degree in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, USA. She has studied, taught, and performed Javanese music in Poland, UK, Indonesia, Ireland, and the United States. Her primary interests encompass the musical traditions of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Central-Eastern Europe as well as acculturation/inculturation, music and religion, diaspora, and Intangible Cultural Heritage. She authored a book titled Performing Faith: Christian Music, Identity and Inculturation in Indonesia (SOAS Studies in Music, Routledge, 2020). She is also a performer of central-Javanese music and dance.