October 11 2018, 9.06 pm
Rosalie
and Other Love Songs
Chapter
1: Once Upon a Time
by Saidah Rastam
by Saidah Rastam
Malayan music is just like our Malaysian
food, which is the fusion of many cultures. This can be seen from two of the
most influential sources of music at that time - Malay cinema and Radio
Malaya/Malaysia.
Jimmy
Boyle, a composer, where his father is an Irish and
his mother is Dutch Indonesian.
P. Ramlee , his father was from Acheh.
Alfonso Soliano, the first leader of Orkes
Radio Malaya, was Filipino.
Saiful
Bahri, a composer of patriotic songs and state
anthems of Selangor and Malacca was from Sumatra.
Military band music was based on British
orchestra.
Malay film songs were influenced by Latin
rhythms, such as samba and rumba.
Malaysia’s national radio orchestra
repertoire was based on jazz from America.
Keroncong comes from Java and Portuguese.
1940s records sounds like music of
European.
And Malay traditional musics five rhythm
are from all over the world.
And this is where the story of our national
anthem begins.
These are the summaries of next chapters:
Chapter
2: ‘Rosalie’
British resident was assassinated, a sultan
was exiled and a young prince from Perak created Perak’s state anthem.
Chapter
3: Cosmopolitan Music
A Parsee (Parsi) theater troupe called Tok
Pusi came to Penang and entertained the audiences. They travel across Malay
Archipelago and tell the stories of princesses and raksasas (demons) with
Hindustan, Arab, Turkish, Chinese, English, and European songs. British state
and police band consists of musicians from Philippines and Goa. And people
travelled freely within Nusantara. Chinese Opera started to play in amusement
park in 1930s.
Chapter
4: The Japanese Occupation’s Hideous Music
World War 2 started, and Japan invades
Malaya. During the horror’s “being a musician was for once a good thing to be
in society”.
Chapter
5: Indai and Nonong
Stories of Radio Malaya and Alfonso Ali
Bong Soliano.
Chapter
6: After the War
The war was over, and people wanted more
Western music, even when the country went through Emergency. This music was
banned during Japanese occupation. Lots of different music are literally
everywhere, like ronggeng, rumba and cha cha.
Chapter
7: P. Ramlee: Sultan of Smooth
Malay cinema, one of the two influential
source of music is full of P.Ramlee’s music.
Chapter
8: The Big Sound: Radio Malaya
Tells the stories of band who made Radio
Malaya happen in the early postcolonial days, and mostly Malay programs in
Kuala Lumpur.
Chapter
9: ‘Jangan Putih Mata’: Love Songs for the Nation
Songs from 1940s to 1960s are not just
about love songs, but also commented on social transitions, political,
patriotism for the newly independent nation of Malaya. It also tell the story
of Federation of Malaya Police Band.
Chapter
10: How Do You Find a National Anthem?
In 1956, Malaya gaining independence and
Radio Malaya Kuala Lumpur search for a major project – the search of national
anthem. Hundreds of composers wrote their compososition, and 514 entries for
the national anthem competition were received from all around the world.
An
Amazing Decade for Musical Babies
1921 - Johar
Bahar was born in Selangor. He learned guitar write Keroncong songs.
Keroncong comes from the Javanese estate workers to Malaya, and loved by Baba
and Nyonya.
1922 – Jimmy
Boyle was born in Penang, who loves swing and jazz.
Saiful
Bahri bin Ilyas (Surya Buana) was born in
Payakumbuh, Sumatra. He was the leader at Orkes Studio Jakarta. During
Konfrontasi, he choose to lives in Malaysia.
Hamzah
Dolmat (D. Hamzah), a violinist was born in
Singapore.
R. Azmi (Raja Azmi Raja Ambias) was born in Kuala Kangsar. He has aristocratic blood, and during this
period, musicians were looked down.
1925- Alfonso Soliano was born in Singapore.
1929 – Alias Arshad was born in Kuala Pilah,
Negri Sembilan. He was the first Malaysian Police bandmaster.
Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh/P. Ramlee was born in Penang.
Different Trajectories, Crossed Path
1948
Alias Arshad travelled from Kuala Pilah to Kuala Lumpur, join the Federation Police
Band. P
P. Ramlee travel using train from Penang to Singapore, and join Shaw bother’s
Malay Film Production at 8 Jalan Ampas. He and Alfonso Soliano worked on the film ‘Chinta’ by B.S. Rajhans.
R. Azmi accepted as a playback singer at Jalan Ampas
Singapore becomes the
centre of Malay culture and becomes a cosmopolitan mix, where artists from many
countries gathered.
1950s
D. Hamzah played violin and created joget moden on ronggeng stages with Ahmad
C.B. His father, Dolmat Haji Abdul Fatah was a musician and passed his
knowledge of classical Malay music to his son. Tunku Abdul Rahman invited him to Kuala Lumpur.
Hamzah transered his songs into recordings, and this performed for orchestra by
Alfonso Soliano under the direction of Ahmad Merican. Thesemusicians worked
with Radio Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca)
There’s a musical community
of film musicians and singers in Singapore, led by Zubir Said, Ahmad Jaafar,
Yusoff B, Kassim Masdor and Ahmad Wan Yet.
1956
1. 1. P.Ramlee (27) won best musical score at Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong.
2. 2. A.W.
Crofts, Deputy Superintendent led Federation Police Band on 14-week tour of
England and Scotland at Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. As the 62 members of
band returns home, Alias Arshad
reported at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, Twickenham.
3.The search
for a national anthem. All the figures mention earlier came together for this
cause.
Looking Back
“Music was always in
the vanguard of the country’s quest for modernity”. However, the journey is not
that smooth. In 1965, Alfonso Soliano
pay the price because his music was “too Westernized”. Saiful Bahri was isolated because his music was too good. Other
musicians receive more or less the same fate.
We can hear these
songs plays anywhere in Nusantara. Malaya becomes Malaysia, musicians are
formally educated, more songs are created and their music resonates to this
day.
~Natural Cure~
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