Beunang nyalin tina blog-na Madrotter, ihwal Euis Komariah ceuk Andrew Timar, urang Kanada.
==== Euis Komariah, celebrated Sundanese singer of West Java dies at 62 Andrew Timar, Toronto, Canada August 11, 2011 Indonesian media has reported the death at 62 of Euis Komariah, the prominent West Javanese singer, gamelan degung player, recording artist and teacher of traditional Sundanese music http://www.inilahjabar.com/read/detail/1764122/ribuan-pelayat-antar-kepergian-euis-komariah Ms Komariah died on Thursday (11/8/2011) at about 2 P.M. in Bandung, West Java and was buried today at the family plot in her birthplace, Cipadaulun, located in Majalaya village in the Bandung Regency, West Java province. More than 1,000 mourners gathered at the Bandung funeral home to view the deceased for the last time. A number of prominent figures including artists and officials of the city of Bandung and the provincial government of West Java attended the departure of Ms Komariah from the funeral home to the cemetery. Traveling by ambulance, the deceased was accompanied by her husband Gugum Gumbira, the noted choreographer, composer, bandleader and Jugala recording studio head. They have four daughters. Ms Komariah’s four-decade career was almost exclusively focused on what some consider ‘classical’ Sundanese vocal and instrumental genres. Early in her career however she did venture for a few years into the realm of popular songs accompanied by typical Western pop combos of the time: guitar, drum kit, keyboards and bass, appearing on LPs in that style. She is best known today however as one of the leading proponents of her generation of the Cianjuran style of Sundanese art song, releasing dozens of LPs, cassettes, CDs in that capacity. She also sang on Indonesian TV. Among her teachers were the leading female singers and composers of the previous generation, such as the renowned Cianjuran singer and composer Ibu Saodah. To her many students including those from the USA, Japan and Europe, she was “Ibu”, a surrogate mother. Her teaching manner was characterised by subtlety, depth, sweetness and wisdom. Though I met Ibu Euis only once, it was an important moment for me, one that I treasure still. It was in March 2008 on the occasion of her Cianjuran tembang sunda concert at the Western Front in Vancouver, BC.http://front.bc.ca/newmusic/events/3145 I was invited to perform suling (vertically played bamboo ring flute) with her and the virtuoso kacapi (18 string boat-shaped plucked zither) player Gan-gan Garmana, with whom she was touring the USA. It was my first formal tembang Sunda gig – and it proved to be a veritable trial by fire. I did not get a set list until our single rehearsal and sound-check the afternoon of what turned out to be an evening concert comprised of 24 songs! To raise the ante even more, the CBC radio recorded the live concert for national broadcast. Ibu Euis proved every inch the consummate musician and diva I'd come to love in her many recordings, though in person she was also considerate and collegial. She relied on Pa Gan-gan to work out the details of the song selection and arrangements with me. While I found it surprising that she gave few directions to me personally, I felt she set me free allowing me to do my best despite my evident limitations in the demanding Cianjuran repertoire. At the evening concert, Ibu Euis performed her songs with precision, clarity and conviction, while I focused on playing my suling parts correctly, trying not to get too fancy. My strategy was to generally keep my tootling out of the way of the waves of her beautifully rendered melody that was tied directly to an apparently bottomless well of deeply lived and felt emotion. The appreciative Vancouver audience responded with more than a few damp eyes. By the end of the programme the air seemed still, filled with emotion. Ibu Euis was visibly thrilled by the audience's enthusiastic applause. After we took a second curtain call - meant primarily for her – I received what felt like a major award when she gave me a big full-body motherly hug back stage! I'll always cherish the warm welcome to the tembang sunda family Ibu extended that night to this Canadian newbie. ----------------------- Andrew Timar Freelance music journalist Musician, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Toronto, Canada ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kisunda/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kisunda/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
