(Page of Swords & The High Priestess, vol.19-4) Music Should Make Everyone Happy (4) - The Case of Maryam Putri RAHMAT -

Now, he had three encounters that absolutely solidified his will to create his music, and I'm going to tell you about those episodes now. We got a new home by Central Park, and the reason was to fulfill Howard Wills' proposal below.

• Go outside every day, sunbathe, sit in the shade of a tree, breathe in the fresh air and listen to the various sounds of the earth.

He went to Central Park every day during the fall as much as possible. And I often went out with him. As you know, it snows heavily in New York, so it's impossible to sit on a bench in Central Park in winter, but I still went to Central Park as much as possible and enjoyed deep breathing. Breathing deeply in the winter is very pleasant! Now, those three encounters all happened in quick succession at the end of October. We sat in different places every day in Central Park, and there, usually, we read "A Course In Miracles". Of course, Masato's voice as a radio DJ was well known, and sometimes he played drums in sessions at "Tiger Rag" or other events, or participated in club events, or was a speaker at symposiums on Asian culture, so his face was at least a little known.

Well, that day, we were sitting side by side on a bench in Central Park as usual, each reading "A Course In Miracles". Then, Masato was approached by a young Indonesian woman in a wheelchair.

Maryam Putri RAHMAT was a violinist who had received a scholarship from the government of the Republik Indonesia to study at The Juilliard School, but had just left school and was about to return home. She had suddenly developed a neurological gait disorder that required treatment, but she could not afford the unusually high cost of treatment in New York, just as Masato had given up on cancer treatment, so she decided to return home to Republik Indonesia. She gave up her dream of becoming a world-class violinist and should have been in despair. But to us, she did not seem to be in despair.

In fact, Maryam Putri RAHMAT was bored with teaching at The Juilliard School. She was unable to get carried away with the idea of improving her violin skills, graduating, and making a name for herself in the world of Classical music. She would listen to "Far East Rare Groove" every week without fail, and Masato frequently played Indonesian music on this program. In fact, Indonesia is a country that has produced so many kinds of music. Did you know that? There are 25 major languages in Indonesia. If we break them down even further, there are more than 10 times that many languages. Since Indonesia was a maritime city-state with the Strait of Malacca, which developed as a transit point for maritime trade from ancient times, a great many ethnic groups coexist in the country. Therefore, many kinds of "Popular Music" were born in Indonesia.

Elvy Sukaesih began her singing career at the age of 13 in one of the bands called "Orkes Melayu" and was dubbed the "Queen of Dangdut" when that evolving form became a musical genre called "Dangdut".

Hetty Koes Endang is a versatile singer who freely handled a great variety of musical styles, including "Dangdut," and in 1987 she released the album "Berdiri Bulu Romaku" which became the biggest hit in the genre of "Pop Indonesia," a collective term for a very wide range of musical styles.

From the very old-style genre of "Kroncong," Waldjinah released a good album, and Detty Kurnia from the Sunda Islands released a series of "Pop Sunda" masterpieces. Because there were so many important singers like these who needed to be introduced, Masato frequently featured Indonesian music.

However, it is said that Indonesian music began to decline after the 1990s. This is probably a common story in the music industry and seems to mean that the music itself is not treated with respect. For example, Hetty Koes Endang has moved its base to Malaysia.

Maryam Putri RAHMAT, in her twenties, grew up listening to Classical music rather than the Indonesian "Popular Music" that is regarded as having become stagnant. Her father, who owned a trading company, bid on a very expensive violin at an antique auction he attended while on a business trip to Europe. Maryam Putri RAHMAT got that violin from her father. She was four years old. The violin was not a toy, in fact, it was so fine that it was not meant to be played by a child, but the shape and color and luster alone so fascinated Maryam Putri RAHMAT that her father bought a new children's violin for her and even invited a private tutor to help her practice on it. And so she continued her "Gifted and Talented Education" in classical music until she was finally admitted to The Juilliard.

However, although she was not explicitly attacked, she felt an atmosphere of discrimination against Orientals and did not make any friends, which caused her severe homesickness. But Masato's FM radio program "Far East Rare Groove" comforted her in the midst of such disappointment.

She was especially attracted to "Kroncong," the world's oldest "Popular Music". "Kroncong" is the world's oldest mixed-race popular music, which originated during the Portuguese rule of Indonesia in the 16th century and was influenced by Portuguese music. Masato has featured "Kroncong" from the 78-rpm disc era in "Far East Rare Groove," including the very popular Chinese Indonesian singers Tan Tjeng Bok and Miss Riboet, as well as the very first recording of the very famous song "Bangawan Solo" by Che Sutinah. In doing so, he explained the meaning of "Popular Music" as defined by Japanese music critic Nakamura Toyo. In other words, it is music of mixed blood. This is what makes "Popular Music" different from Classical music and from pure ethnic music. Usually, the domination of the Indonesian region by the Portuguese, then by the Dutch and the British, and later by the Japanese, is seen as a tragic event that destroyed the culture. However, the fact is that the kingdoms in the "Indonesian region/Straits of Malacca" had been trading with other regions long before Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama began their great voyages of discovery, and they had the great virtue of accepting and integrating diverse foreign cultures into their own style long ago. Their trade was very extensive. Evidence of this is known that the Malay language is very similar to the language of Madagascar in Africa. The city-states of the Straits of Malacca were hubs from which Chinese, Indian, Persian, and Arab nations came and traded with each other, so they were cosmopolitans even before the arrival of Portugal. They had the ability to absorb other cultures and yet redefine them within their own culture. Their kings had told them for generations that "The sea belonged to everyone," but it was the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English who shattered that idea. They were the first to understand the concept of national borders and started their independence movement. But their virtues did not die, so they redefined Portuguese music in their culture and gave birth to "Kroncong", which they carry to this day.

Such commentary on "Kroncong" by Masato fascinated Maryam Putri RAHMAT. Masato often featured “Kroncong”. He also featured very old and rare recordings and, of course, very popular singers like NETTY and her husband Achmad Zaelani.

"Bengawan Solo" composed by Gesang Martohartono, commonly referred to by his first name only as "Gesang," in 1940, during the period of occupation by the Japanese Empire, is very popular and therefore sung by a great many singers.  A Japanese singer, Toshi Matsuda, also sang "Bengawan Solo”. That was in 1948. So, Masato introduced several versions. Gesang said, "Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of writing a song in praise of the eternal existence of Bengawan Solo (Solo the Great River)". Needless to say, all versions of this song deeply moved Maryam Putri RAHMAT.

With those “Kroncong” features, she clearly understood a very beautiful aspect of their qualities. Fortunately, "Kroncong" is a music that embraces Portuguese music and often uses the violin as well. Rather than live in the world of Classical music, Maryam Putri RAHMAT decided to return to her hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, and enjoy and learn the wonderful Indonesian "Popular Music" from scratch. She had a strong desire to create her own music within that beautiful "Popular Music" culture. It was at this time that she had difficulty walking, and unbelievably, she left The Juilliard with great joy. Maryam Putri RAHMAT was in a wheelchair and her father was scheduled to pick her up in New York the next day. Maryam Putri RAHMAT was so happy to see Masato Shiraishi, who had taught her the richness of Indonesian musical culture, in person just before she returned to Jakarta, that she shed tears of joy and thanked him repeatedly.

Masato suggested that she come by our home for a visit. Maryam Putri RAHMAT readily accepted Masato's suggestion, so he pushed her wheelchair. Masato wanted to present Maryam Putri RAHMAT with several CDs he had made for the "Far East Rare Groove" broadcast from his own sound collection, as well as materials for the broadcast. After returning to Jakarta, Maryam Putri RAHMAT often sent him many cassette tapes. Beacause of since around 1978, records were rarely handled in Indonesia, and music was distributed in the form of cassette tapes, Maryam Putri RAHMAT collected and presented to him cassette tapes of various pre-80s Indonesian music that Masato liked. As for Maryam Putri RAHMAT's legs, she was able to walk immediately after returning to Jakarta, so she didn't need extensive treatment.