Sujiwo sings a sad song for the nation’s rivers

The Jakarta Post   |  Fri, 05/22/2009 11:20 AM  |  People

JP

JAKARTA: Looking after our rivers is about a whole lot more than mere human interests – that’s the belief of contemporary puppeteer-cum-musician Sujiwo Tejo.

Rather, river conservation “should be based on the ‘interests’ of the river, not necessarily if it would affect humans or not,” Sujiwo said before singing “Bengawan Solo”, an old song about the longest river in Java.

Accompanied by the band Viki Sianipar, Sujiwo adopted a somber tone in performing the song, using
a different arrangement to the original written by veteran artist Gesang.

“It’s a version by someone who is trapped by debt, someone whose country is trapped by a huge debt,” Sujiwo, who has released three albums, said in a performance held in commemoration of the 50th
anniversary of Tarumanagara University.

“The river has flooded areas along its banks. The river is now different to when Gesang wrote the song,” he pointed out. “Gesang gets little respect in this country but is greatly appreciated overseas.”

As well as performances by Sujiwo and Viki Sianipar, the university’s choir, which recently won two gold medals in a contest in Italy, sang some traditional songs at the concert, held at the university’s campus in West Jakarta. — JP

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