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The sound of Indonesian string 2023
Intercultural exchange with traditional Indonesian instruments
November 13-22, 2023
Events
Mon, 13.11.23
Interculture Night by ISWI – bi-club – Ilmenau
Admission: 19:00
In Indonesian with translation into English.
Tue, 14.11.23
Goethemuseum – Ilmenau
Event with invited guests
Wed, 15.11.23
Culture Talks – Weimar
tba
Fri, 17.11.23
Abantu cultural laboratory – Jena
Admission from 6 p.m., start 7 p.m., admission free
In Indonesian language with translation into German.
Sat, 18.11.23
Altes Wannenbad – Kulturhaus Häselburg – Gera
Admission from 6.30 pm, start 7 pm, admission free
In Indonesian language with translation into German.
Mon, 20.11.23
Gem – Ilmenau
Admission from 6.30 pm, start 7 pm, admission free
In Indonesian language with translation into German.
Wed, 22.11.23
Weltkulturen Museum – Frankfurt/Main
Admission from 7.40 pm, start 8 pm
In Indonesian language with translation into German.
The soundscapes and musical worlds of Indonesia are very diverse, if only because of the size of the island nation. As an archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world with hundreds of ethnic groups and great cultural diversity. This project aims to introduce traditional Indonesian music in Germany, especially in the federal state of Thuringia.
Under the title “The Sound of Indonesian String”, four Indonesian musicians will present their string instruments in Thuringia. Dijtron Koriyon Pah and Jeagril Pah present the bamboo tube zither Sasando. The sasando comes from the east of the archipelago and is used in both traditional and pop-cultural contexts. Musicians Dadan Budiana and Endang Sukandar, on the other hand, present the Tembang Sunda genre from West Java. This courtly singing style is always accompanied by the zither kacapi and the bamboo flute suling. Each performance will not only provide the opportunity to experience the traditional musical instrument live, but will also provide knowledge about the historical and social context of the musical instrument for each ethnic group from which the instrument originates.
The project was initiated by the Indonesian cultural working group of KuKo e.V. and supported by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education.
Sasando
The sasando is a tubular zither, a harp-like traditional stringed instrument that is native to the island of Rote in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, and has been played by the Rote people since the 7th century. It is considered one of the most remarkable stringed instruments in Oceania. It consists of a tubular bamboo zither with ten or eleven metal strings in a resonating body made from the frond of a lontar palm. When playing, the musician plucks the bass strings with the right hand while the left hand plays the treble strings. The sesando is played at weddings and funerals and is believed to have supernatural powers. Occasionally the zither is also played as a solo instrument, but above all it is used to accompany songs whose verses are written in bini, a special poetic language, and whose refrains are in common Rotinese. The songs are often philosophical and describe the world as ruled by an inescapable fate and life as sometimes disappointing and ultimately fleeting.
Kacapi
The kacapi is a board zither that is played in Sundanese music in the west of the Indonesian island of Java to accompany singing or in a chamber music ensemble. Together with the bamboo flute Suling, the Kacapi accompanies the courtly singing style Tembang Sunda and forms the instrumental duo Kacapi Suling with only the flute. The kacapi is the characteristic instrument of Sundanese music, and its soft tones essentially determine its lyrical quality. The Kacapi transports the listener to the golden age of the West Javanese empire of Pajajaran, which existed from the 14th to the 16th century.
Press release docx: tsoi_2023_press_releases
Press text txt: tsoi_2023_press_texte
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