If I were to ask for the music of Malaysia and Indonesia, one could easily say oh!! that would be the kompang or oh! that's the gamelan for you. But Singapore music? It does draw a blank huh? I bet many Singaporeans would tell you that there is no such thing as Singapore music. It is easy to see where they come from. It is difficult to identify a specific representation of Singapore music. Singapore music is the music that is heard here in Singapore. It's not only the music made by the homegrown composers, or the music that homegrown singers sing. It's the music that Singaporeans can identify as their own, the music that make them feel Singaporean.
We will now begin exploring the music scene in Singapore's past, present and future... let's begin with a little something!~
Malay music had it's roots in Singapore since so very long ago. Even before Raffles had set foot into Singapore, there were the Orang Kallang, Orang Seletar, Orang Gelam, Orang Lauts , Malays (followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman) and Chinese who had already made Singapore their home. In these small fisherman vilages, their sources of music were likely to be similar to what was found in Malaysia: music in the form of pencat silat, songs of work life, life cycles, self entertainment, healing, religious celebrations. The Orang Suku (the lowest class of Orang Laut) had the job of entertainment and music at the Malay courts.
British Malaya, including Singapore, was the most western influenced area in mainland SEA. Classical music and ballroom dance was practised and performed. The strong influence also resulted in the development of new genres. As the colonisers made their way into Singapore, the noblemen had brought in court music as their form of entertainment. The missionaries brought along sacred music, which was used as a medium to deliver their messages to the masses. House concerts were grand affairs. In the 1840s, the D´Almeida Family use to hold such concerts of high musical quality twice a week at their home. This was one way that the noblemen in that time had introduced Western classical music to Singapore.
The noblemen had also created amatuer groups for people of similar interest to come together to appreciate music. These clubs included the Singapore Amateur Musical Society from the English Community, Liedertafel of the German Club and the Malacca Fiddlers. SAMS had performed for benefits concerts in Tan Tock Seng Hospital and during the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. They had also collaborated with Liedertafel to perform Händel´s Messiah.
Edward Charles Salzmann (1853-1930), an organist in St. Andrew's , a conductor, violinist and a music teacher, also played a very strong role in bringing in the western music to the locals. He had great links with the European singers and soloist, and was able to bring them in for the performance of Elijah in 1893. He had founded the Santa Cecilia Band which played light classical music using the harmonized Chinese melodies that he created, adding on to the Chinese interest in this genre.
In 1906, the Straits Chinese Community formed an Amateur Musical Society. The Singapore Philharmonic Society was formed in 1891, and though no restrictions were made, there were no signs of local participation. However, when the society moved to Victoria Theatre and later fell silent, it was the Chinese community had aided its revival in 1921. The Philharmonic Society was later disbanded in 1977, to give rise to the first fully professional orchestra in Singapore, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, still performing today. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra has since toured over 50 countries since its inception, and is gaining recognition around the world. More information on the Singapore Symphony Orchestra can be found here.
Furthermore, the building of the Esplanade has since allowed the arts scene in Singapore to expand, and is also now the main concert hall where the SSO makes does its performances. Other groups that have a grown shared interest in Western Classical music also includes the Ensemble Singers (previously called the Singapore Youth Choir). They had previously been formed from the combined school choirs, and have since grown and started expanding their horizons to work on many other genres of music.
The schools today play a very important part in garnering a child's interest in the Western Classical music. Teachers that have a keen interest in the subject could help to spread their enthusiam to the younger generations and keep the such music alive in Singapore.
Here's a clip taken during "One ACS Christmas concert", where the students from the different schools of the ACS family had come together to share their musical interest with family and friends. It was interesting to see how they had played current the MTV tracks from popular movies using their instruments.
[Chinese Classical Music: a look into the Chinese Orchestra]
Chinese Migrants who came to Singapore had brought along their Folk Music. From the North, the wood and percussion instruments were introduced. And from the South, the string and wind instruments (Sizhu). These migrants had also set up Clan Associations in order to preserve their roots. Tao Rong was one such association who had later collaborated with MOE to bring in the Chinese Orchestra (CO) as part of the Chinese culture. After the National Theatre closed down, its CO was taken over by the People's Association. When the Singapore Chinese Orchestra was formed in 1996, the PA's CO members were auditioned.
At Present?
There was an initial flourishing of CO in Singapore, but many soon closed down due to the lack of funding. The Singapore Chinese Orchestra remains, and is now working on bringing its music to the grassroots. It has held free concerts at the Community Centres, and making providing chinese instrumental guides not only during such concerts, but also on their website.
Here's a video taken during their performance at the Bishan CC. The conductor introduces the different instruments used in the Chinese orchestra to the grassroots.
Indian Carnatic Music had originated from Vedas. There are 4 types of Vedas:
Rig (Mantras): Verses that are chanted during sacrificial rites
Yejur (Krivas): Also used during rites or rituals, with a South Indian string instrument being played in accompaniment of the vocal recitals
Sama (Ganam): Hymns for the sacrificial rites
Adarvana: Used for medicinal healing.
Music plays an important role in Hinduism. It has been said that music brings divinty and power by singinging the hymns of their gods. Sangeetha Pithamaha, for example, was a given the role of a saint for his role in establishing carnatic music.
Carnatic music is performed by a small ensemble, that is made up of a principle performer, the melodic campanion and the thambura/ sruthi base.
Carnatic music in Singapore?
As with many of the other traditional music forms, Western musics still has the strongest influence here. Even with regard to Indian music, the younger generations do still prefer North and South Indian modern music. But many youngsters are coming forward to learn carnatic music, especiall after realising how relevant it can be to the Western music. In schools, carnatic music has been offered as a GCE 'O' and 'A' level subject. It has also been offered as CCA in certain schools, but the issue that arises is that there are not enough students with such an interest in each school to maintain such a CCA. There are also private teachers as well as societies such as SYAMA, that are working hard to promote and maintain the interests of the youths today towards traditional Indian music.
In such a cosmopolitan world like Singapore, there are people who come from all parts of the world who reside here in Singapore. There are many communities that practise their music here (e.g Swiss Alpine Brass Band), and have formed cultural institutes and associations that help maintain their cultural interests. Some of their music would stay within the community, whilst others are being shared with the general public, with performances being held for the masses (e.g Italian Opera by the Italian Cultural Institute). Today, we will just touch on a few communities from the minority group in Singapore.
The Javanese Gamelan
The Gamelan Melayu had not spread further down into Singapore, as it had never been introduced as a form of court music here.
Eurasian Music
The Kristang language, which involves the use of a Malaccan-Portugese dialect in poems and songs, as wells as European folkdances like the Samba are some of the musical examples from this group. The Branyo is another danceform of Portugese origin that is specific to Singapore and Malaysia.
The founding of the Eurasian Association in 1919 has helped to preserve the Eurasian heritage in Singapore.
The Angklung is one instrument that is very popular as a CCA in schools, since it allows for many students to participate to play the instruments. Above is a video of a performance by the Angklung ensemble in National Junior College.
Peranakan Music
The Dondang Sayang is one of type of music made from this group. It involves the use of a four line poem (the pantun) that is sang in accompaniment of the Malay drum, violin and gong. Much of its culture remains preserved with the establishment of the Peranakan Museum, and the Gunong Sayang Association (who stages Peranakan plays for the public). Cotemporary music has been composed based on this culture (Bunga Sayang from Dick Lee's play Kampung Amber), and this song is now also often used during the National Day Parade, despite being a one of the minority groups here.
Pop music plays the biggest role in Singapore by far. With America as the superpower post WWII, it was without doubt that its culture would have a strong influence on its musical directions. The rising of the Quest and the Thunderbirds were evidence of its spread. The Quest used a created pop music, using an infusion of ethnic music in the early 1960s, and in the 70s, the Malay pop and rock group the Thunderbirds had shown strong western influence in the music too. (Watch their videos here and here)
Till now, influences from different parts of the world continue to play a big part in the Singapore music scene. Globalisation and the easy access to the world wide web in most homes have allowed for the likes of Lady Gaga and Korean pop to gain fans from this part of the world. Lady Gaga with her numerous endorsements and interesting outfits have only helped to raise the awareness of many to her music. Korean pop music had rode on the wave for the craze of Korean dramas. These pop music groups have garnered further interest thanks to their amazing vocals, catchy tunes and great dance moves.
Singapop
In more recent times, a few talented artiste that had managed to make the headlines back home. One such person would be Dick Lee. One of his compositions is seen above.
Kit Chan was the first Singaporean to gain recognition here after making a name for herself in Taiwan. Since then, many more have come out and made careers as Mandopop artistes (Stephanie Sun, Ah Du, JJ Lin, Sun Ho). Stephanie Sun has surely made many Singaporeans proud. This singing powerhouse has won over many hearts in Asia, and has sold over 10 million copies of her albums since she first started out in the year 2000. Here's a MV for "First Day" from one of her collaborations with popular Taiwanese band, Mayday.
Singapore Idol and other music compeititions has also fuelled the rising of many other aspiring singers and bands. To add on to this new wave of interest is the rising of indie bands like Electrico and The Great Spy Experiment. They were one of the first Singaporean bands to make it into the Singaporean radio charts. Below is a piece sung by Electrico for National Day Theme Song.
Contemporary music brings in very interesting new twist to the traditional music. Especially with the technological advances made in the world, composers have also recreated new music deriving much inspiration from the past and the present.
Leong Yoon Pin for one is a leading figure in Singapore's music scene. Through his music, he has helped to create a national identity for Singaporeans. He has been able to reinvent traditional songs, with the use of contemporary music styles.
Leong Yoon Pin is one of the early composers in Singapore. In this song Dayong Sampan, he has used a Western orchestra to play it.
Other interesting composers include Joyce Koh. Her music is very unlike that of Leong Yoon Pin, and focuses not on creating songs that have a clear Singaporean essence to it. The following piece by her is actually a reinterpretation of the Beckett's play: Waiting for Godot. A very interesting piece indeed.
Well, so this has been a little glimpse at the music in Singapore. Who says there's no such thing as Singapore music now? It's just so diverse that we don't naturally relate all these very different gernes together=] The music scene in Singapore has yet to reach its full potential, but there are signs that the awareness of the arts scene is rising. An education in music here in Singapore is a very expensive affair. Many who head down this road, few actually succeed. Furthermore, though the MDA and NAC are government bodies who are supposed to help to promote the arts scene here, the restrictions in place makes it difficult for Singapore music groups to carve a name for themselves here.
A depressing picture indeed. But does it mean that the further developments in Singapore music will never be realised? There was a recent report on how the concerts at Mosaic Festival in Singapore has been sold out, and the Festival has agreed to bring in more homegrown artiste to perform next year. Many more artiste are coming out and making names for themselves not only in Singapore, but also internationally. As long as a passion for music remains in the hearts of Singaporeans, it is unlikely that the music scene in Singapore can die out.
To end off, this is an interview that Channel News Asia had with Inch Chua, a young Singaporean who is on her way to achieving her musical dreams...
As with many of the other traditional music forms, Western musics still has the strongest influence here. Even with regard to Indian music, the younger generations do still prefer North and South Indian modern music.
The Dondang Sayang is one of type of music made from this group. It involves the use of a four line poem (the pantun) that is sang in accompaniment of the Malay drum, violin and gong.
Kit Chan was the first Singaporean to gain recognition here after making a name for herself in Taiwan. Since then, many more have come out and made careers as Mandopop artistes (Stephanie Sun, Ah Du, JJ Lin, Sun Ho). Stephanie Sun has surely made many Singaporeans proud. This singing powerhouse has won over many hearts in Asia, and has sold over 10 million copies of her albums since she first started out in the year 2000. Here's a MV for "First Day" from one of her collaborations with popular Taiwanese band, Mayday.
