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Austrian singer collaborates with ‘angklung’ musicians at Indonesian Cultural Night in Vienna
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The annual event organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna entertains the audience with music, dance and an interactive session to promote Indonesian art and culture in Austria. (Shutterstock/GeorginaCaptures)
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ngklung musicians featuring Austrian soprano Maria Theresia Gruber staged the song Bengawan Solo at the Indonesian Cultural Night event held at Vienna’s Weltmuseum on Tuesday evening.
Antara reported that the young soprano also sang "Im Prater blühn wieder die Bäume" (The trees are blooming again in the Prater), accompanied by angklung tunes.
Indonesia Cultural Night was held by the Indonesian Embassy in partnership with the Tourism Ministry and Weltmuseum Vienna, an ethnographic museum that houses some of the most important collections of non-European cultures.
Wina Retnosari from the art and cultural relations department of the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna told Antara in London on Wednesday that around 300 guests attended the event. The audience was entertained with dances and a musical performance of Jakarta-based group Ikreasindo. The dances included bajidor kahot, lenggang nyai and rampak kendang.
The audience included ambassadors of countries Indonesia has good diplomatic relationships with, the embassy’s business partners from many international organizations and institutions in Austria, and Indonesian citizens residing in Vienna.
Aside from enjoying the angklung music performance, the audience was also given the chance to interact by playing the angklung. Ikreasindo leader Ika led the interactive session, and after a short time most of the audience were able to play the pop songs "You Raise Me Up" and "Stay with Me".
Indonesian Ambassador to Austria Dr. Darmansjah Djumala said the versatility of angklung music enabled its combination with modernism and contemporary music. He went on to say that the angklung embodied the spirit of unity in diversity espoused in Indonesia.
Read also: Angklung to take center stage at UN headquarters
At the end of the event, angklung were given away to the audience. The traditional instrument can either be played or serve as decoration. A guest, Anton Pinter, asked for a certain type of angklung to complete the ones he already had at home, saying he wished to play the angklung with his wife.
The event is held every year by the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna to promote Indonesian art and culture in Austria, in the hope of attracting travelers, traders and investors. (mut)
