Incorporating the Viola into Performances of New Arrangements of Malay Asli Music for a Western Classical Ensemble (original) (raw)

2017, Proceedings of the 1st Lombok Edu-Tourism Conference 2017

Traditional Malay Asli music would typically include melody instruments such as the violin and flute. The viola is an instrument played mostly in solo recitals, orchestral music and chamber works, however, its rich, warm tone is very well suited to performances of Malay Asli music, a syncretic style which fuses Arabic, Western and Malay elements. This paper will introduce three new music arrangements of Malay Asli music which include the viola, rather than the more commonly used instrument, violin. Specific viola techniques, and tone production will be discussed, as well as the way in which ornamentations such as mordents, trills, turns, passing notes, and glissando can be included in the performance of Asli pieces. By including the viola in new Asli arrangements, this traditional folk music of Malaysia can be introduced to viola players internationally. A traditional Asli ensemble, also known as a Ronggeng ensemble, is believed to have appeared on the Malay Peninsula around the 17 th to the 18 th centuries and includes in its performance repertoire all genres of Asli music. The ensemble performs a syncretic type of music that fuses local and foreign elements, with elements from Chinese, Indian, Western and Arabic music. The music was originally performed in Penang and Malacca to entertain visitors at different types of feasts and events. Originally, the ensemble contained instruments such as rebab or biola (violin), rebana and knobbed gong. Later the accordion, flute, oud (gambus), and guitar were added to the ensemble (Matusky & Tan, 2004). In Malaysia, the violin is called biola, but its original name came from Sabah, in Borneo. Biola is a type of lute used with a bow stick, originally from the Iranun community (Matusky & Tan, 2004, p.313). It differs from the Western violin in terms of the number of strings (three instead of four) and bow shape. The biola is played in a seated position with crossed legs, with the instrument placed in a vertical position on top of one of the legs. The violin is held in either a standing position, or while seated on a chair, supported by the left side shoulder and stabilised by the chin. The Western violin appeared in Malaysia around the 14th century, brought by the Portuguese people, along with the guitar. These instruments are played in traditional ensembles which accompany different types of music genres such as songs, dances and theatre performances (Matusky & Tan, 2004). However, the viola seems to have arrived in Malaysia much later in the 19th