Musical encounters between Indonesia and the Netherlands Leiden University 19, 20 and 21 May 2010
How to compose electronic music for poetry which language you do not understand: Ajip Rosidi, as test case.Abstract One of the main questions during my composition process has always been “what balance is there between the conceptual and the intuitive”. In the first part of this article I will show some techniques of composing electronic music using influences of comparative philosophy from the Belgian philosopher Ulrich Libbrecht. In the second part I will showcase some compositions I made for the Indonesian poet Ajip Rosidi, its Sundanese language I do not understand and raise the question “what means musical intuition to me?”.
→ How to compose electronic music for poetry which language you do not understand: Ajip Rosidi, as test case.
1. Koestische droom 2 (1976):
Second electronic composition influenced by Jaap Vink, teacher analogue studio technique Sonology. The first influences of gamelan music are clearly audible in the middle section (Bonang!).2. Kanon van Fritsch (1994):
Creating a rhythmic and a harmonic pattern in time by stacking. Detaching a sound's attack from its body. Imitations of Kendhang-like and gendher sounds have been incorporated. In particular the kendhang sound "Zoei".
3. Sumatra (2000):
A birthday present for VA | AVMI employee Teresa Birks, who did research in Sumatra.
4. Organ (2000)::
An investigation into a new instrumentation based on a Javanese modal improvisation Pathetan into an organ piece.
5. Vivre a gogo (2001):
A thematic work for the Bourges festival for Electro-acoustic music. A church choir opposite the Javanese gamelan instrument Gendher. Use was made of the statistical capabilities of the Logic Audio software package. The title is a French translation for "living as a god in France".
6. Morandi's clarinet (2001):
In my imagination I had in mind a painting by Morandi, a rather dark still life. I wanted to get rid of making the timbre as clear (HI-FI) as possible, so not showing the full sound spectrum. Within the MIDIM / VOSIM language I created a clarinet-like sound with a slow glissando against a clear Gendher sound in the middle part. The composition is used for a shadow installation by the German artist Constantin Jaxy.
7. De bril van Anceaux(2002):
A collaboration with the Anthropological filmmaker and photographer Martin van den Oever for the Volkenkundig Museum Leiden. In Martin's Stereo photo tunnel, my 20-minute composition runs in sync with the stereo slides. I have made extensive use of the statistical capabilities of the Logic Audio software package. I wanted to process naturalness, rationality and emotionality more consciously in one composition.
8. Westerbork (2003):
Through the collaboration with Martin van den Oever and Petra Timmer I came to a poem by and voiced by Remco Campert for their documentary "Van de stobbe en de bossen", for which I made electronic music. Basic sound is, among other things, a cluster sound of the Gendher barung.
9. a la maniere de kulenty (2004):
The 2 poems Tanah Sunda and Bendera Ikin by the Indonesian poet Ajip Rosidi set to electronic music. Extensive use made of gamelan cluster sounds.
10. a la maniere de Koenig (2006):
The poem Jante arkidam by the Indonesian poet Ajip Rosidi set to electronic music. Using Koenigs Project 1 vosim output, 2000 year old Chinese instruments and newly designed gamelan instruments made by AL Suwardi.
11. Water van Goud, deel 1 (2000):
Music composed for the documentary 'Water van Goud' by Jos Janssen and Martin van den Oever. Theme: the war between the Netherlands and Indonesia in a transnational perspective.
12. Water van Goud, deel 2 (2009):
Music composed for the documentary 'Water van Goud' by Jos Janssen and Martin van den Oever. Theme: the war between the Netherlands and Indonesia in a transnational perspective.
13. Tympanum (2010):
A collaboration with the jazz drummer Pierre Courbois. Several separate layers of percussion and gongs have been assembled into a whole. The piece was used during the credits of the documentary "Water van Goud" by Jos Janssen and Martin van den Oever.
14. A la maniere de Kaegi (2023):
A la maniere de Kaegi, an hommage to my teacher Dr. Werner Kaegi, a pioneer of computer music. Scientific researcher and teacher at the former Institute of Sonology, University of Utrecht, he developed the MIDIM/VOSIM sound synthesis system: → Werner Kaegi website In this piece I extensively used the MIDIM/VOSIM-system through a.o. my Morandi’s clarinet layer, gender, slenthem and suling duplications and I was inspired by Kaegi’s Ritournelles for soprano and computer (1984)
Compositions influenced by gamelan
Blog by Prof. Dr. Matthew Isaac Cohen":
"In the lecture Jos Janssen described his intimate familiarity with gamelan - a music that is not strange to him as he has been playing it for decades. He spoke about his use of chance compositional procedures (modelled after John Cage) and his experience of working with the dance choreographer Miroto - seeing his dancers repeat a movement for the duration of a 52 minute pre-composed score until they found a moment when it was cocok (match) with the music. They built up the dance score in this way.
Koestische droom II - electronische tape - 1976 - Sonologie Utrecht - 14:00
Subakastawa - electronische tape - 1983 - Sonologie Utrecht - 08:00 - Compositie van Ki Narthosabdo
als test voor het Gamelan simulatie project Sonologie. Premiere orkest olv Supanggah Rahayu
La belle et la bête-eletronische tape - 1984 - Sonologie Utrecht - 09:51 - i.s.m. Paul
Goodman - Midim systeem - o.a. eerste concert van computermuziek in Indonesie
Zone - electornische tape en Javaanse metallofoons - 1992 - Sonologie Den Haag - 11:00 - i.s.m. Paul
Goodman - Gendher, Slenthem en Gong komodhong: Jos Janssen - MIDIM-systeem
Kanon van Fritsch - electronische tape - 1994 - Studio jhw Janssen sa - 07:30 - MIDIM-systeem - AVE-festival Arnhem
Sumatra - 2000 - CD - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 11:53 - Voor Teresa Birks.
Vivre á Gogo - 2001 - CD - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 06:00 - Een thematisch werk voor het Bourges festival 2001
Morandi's clarinet - 2001 - CD
- Studio JHW Janssen sa - 25:00 - Voor Constantin Jaxy's Pentagon werk
- Mention in het Bourges festival voor elctro-akoestische muziek in de
categorie "oevre pour l'installation ou l'environment" - korte
"Kootwijk versie" '(06:00) - Zie onder News
Compositions influenced by gamelan
De bril van Anceaux - 2002 - CD - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 20:00 - Voor Martin van den Oever's
Stereofoto installatie in het Volkenkundig museum Leiden
Canon van Fritsch versie 2 - CD - 2002 - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 07:30 - Uitgave in d.w.i.a.w.h.g.i, Stichting Plaatsmaken Arnhem
Westerbork - CD - 2003 - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 03:04 - Op een gedicht van Remco Campert. Voor de documentaire installatie Van de Stobbe en de Bossen van Martin van den Oever en Petra Timmer. Premiere Herinneringscentrum Westerbork A la maniere de Kulenty - 2004 - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 11:00 - Op de 2 gedichten Tanah Sunda en Bendera Ikin van de Indonesische dichter Ajip Rosidi - Premiere: Winternachten literatuur festival 2007 Den Haag, live voorgedragen door Ajip Rosidi. A la maniere de Koenig - 2006 - Studio JKHW Janssen sa - 11:00 - Op een gedicht van Ajip Rosidi Jante Arkidam - Premiere: Winternachten internationaal literatuur festival 2007 Den Haag- Live voorgedragen door Ajip Rosidi. Water van goud deel 1 - 2009 - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 02:49 - Muziek gecomponeerd voor de documentaire Water van Goud van Jos Janssen en Martin van den Oever. Thema: de oorlog tussen Nederland en Indonesie in een transnationaal perspectief.Water van goud deel 2 - 2009 - Studio JHW Janssen sa - 00:59 - Muziek gecomponeerd voor de documentaire Water van Goud van Jos Janssen en Martin van den Oever. Tympanum, voor jazzdrummer en tape - 2010 - 01:58 - Het stuk, gespeeld door Pierre Courbois, is gebruikt tijdens de aftiteling van de documentaire Water van Goud van Jos Janssen en Martin van den Oever.