Intercultural Creativity and Exploration through Gamelanistic Elements in Marzelan Salleh’s Puteri Gunung Ledang and John Cage’s Dream

Camellia Siti Maya Mohamed Razali; Marzelan Salleh

doi:10.5216/mh.v20.65011

Authors

Dr. Camellia Siti Maya Mohamed Razali Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, camellia@upm.edu.my https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4793-7143
Dr. Marzelan Salleh University of Malaya: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, marzelan@um.edu.my https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6655-1305

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/mh.v20.65011

Keywords:

composition, contemporary music, intercultural, composition techniques

Abstract

Intercultural activity especially through music is widespread and relevant to Malaysian current times. The abundance of music compositions labeled intercultural since the 1900s clearly proves its effectiveness and strength as society continues to embrace them. The emergence of young and new contemporary composers contributes to the advancement of musical ideas and updated knowledge towards contemporary music compositions both locally and internationally. Through them, intercultural resources and tools for composing from various cultures are explored in creative ways. This chapter discusses the composition of two piano works from Marzelan Salleh, a Malaysian composer, and the late John Cage, an American composer. Both explore the possibilities, intentionally or unintentionally, of combining contrasting influences of Asian traditional music idiom with Western traditional and contemporary compositional techniques into personal musical expressions.

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Author Biographies

Dr. Camellia Siti Maya Mohamed Razali, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, camellia@upm.edu.my

Camellia Siti Maya Mohamed Razali is currently a lecturer at the Department of Music, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Camellia received her PhD from the University of Bristol, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Michael Ellison. Camellia’s music are inspired by Asian nuance and Western European music combined through transcultural contemporary ideas. Her interest in music composition lies in composing for contemporary acoustic orchestral, chamber and vocal music. Her music have been performed in United Kingdom and Malaysia. Performances of her compositions at major international music festivals and concerts include Bristol New Music Festival, Contemporary Music Venture Concert Series and University of Bristol’s New Music Ensemble Concerts. Camellia Mohamed Razali has worked and collaborated with prestigious music ensembles and musicians namely, Ensemble Variances, Quatuor Bozzini, New Music Ensemble, Narden Sonel, and Luis Ingels, to name a few. She has attended composition workshops and masterclasses by renowned composers such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, John Pickard, Trevor Wishart, Phillip Glass and Nigel Clarke. While studying in Bristol, her composition, Sayup, for 11 instruments won the New Music Ensemble Call for Scores in 2015.

Since 2016, she has presented papers and written book chapters concerned with addressing through music, the possibilities and questions raised by music and text, colliding and interacting cultures in today’s world. At the moment her research, both in composition and writing has brought upon new music compositions such as Wahyu and Prosa Air Mata, both compositions combining music and Malay poetry, and both being performed in the United Kingdom in 2016. Her book chapter entitled, “Space and Spacing’s in Toru Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch and Marzelan Salleh’s Melayang”recently won Best Creative Writing in STEdex 2017.

Dr. Marzelan Salleh, University of Malaya: Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, marzelan@um.edu.my

Marzelan Salleh has lived in Malaysia and UK. His music such as Bani Jawi, Bangkit, Puteri Gunung Ledang, Rukun, Hijrah, and Tarian Cinta have been inspired by contemporary music methods deriving from diverse nuances of Asian music. His music has been performed in United Kingdom and Malaysia alongside composers such as John Pickard, Michael Ellison, and Dieter Mack. Performances of his compositions at major international music festivals and concerts include New Music in the South West, Bristol New Music Festival, Contemporary Music Venture Concert Series and University of Bristol’s New Music Ensemble Concerts. Marzelan Salleh has worked and collaborated with prestigious music ensembles and musicians namely, Quatuor Bozzini, the Brodowski Quartet, New Music Ensemble Bristol, and Manos Charalabopoulos, to name a few. Marzelan Salleh has attended composition workshops and masterclasses by renowned composers and musicians such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, John Pickard, Trevor Wishart, Philip Glass, and Nigel Clarke.

Marzelan Salleh received his PhD in Composition from the University of Bristol under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Michael Ellison, and previously did his Masters in Composition at the University of Salford with Prof. Alan Williams. Marzelan Salleh’s first involvement in music began as a saxophonist in St. John Institution Kuala Lumpur’s marching band. After which he enrolled into Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia, where he studied clarinet and obtained a first class degree. Composing music has always been his main interest, which led him to obtain a scholarship to pursue contemporary music composition in the UK. Currently, Marzelan Salleh is a senior lecturer at the Cultural Centre, University of Malaya.