JAVA PAYS SOUNDA
MUSIQUE ET CHANTS TRADITIONNELS
ENREGISTREMENTS REALISES A BANDUNG PAR MERRY OTTIN
JAVA SUNDA COUNTRY
TRADITIONAL MUSIC AND SONGS
RECORDINGS MADE IN BANDUNG BY MERRY OTTIN
Alvarès, 1969, LD 110
Merry Ottin (1929-2003) was a writer, explorer and photograph who worked in Turkey to study the Hittite civilization but mostly in Indonesia for years. He made the most of his stays to record musicians here in Bandung the main city in Sunda country. But as often like other explorers he was not a specialist of the local music and here he got helped by Viviane Sukanda research fellow at the CNRS who analysed the recordings and wrote the text as well as the lyrics and their translation into French. So back then in 1969 it was important to have some references especially since this album was maybe the first one to present Sundanese music to a French audience as Sukanda says. Gamelan music was already known and has been since the time of Debussy in France at least among a circle of intellectuals and artists.
Sunda music is based on the suling flute and different types of zithers the flute being the leading instrument which gives the tone to the singers. V. Sukanda highlights the fact that there are no professional musicians so all the musicians here are amateur ones although the flute player Oyo Suwardi is considered as a master as track 7 shows. There are one female singer Imas Permas and two male singers. Three zithers provide the base on which the suling and voices build the melodies. Two musical scales are used : ''pelog'' which is known elsewhere in Indonesia and ''sorog'' specific to Sunda.
A great type of music immediately distinctive.
Text in French.
