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Oldest recording studio hosts 'Indonesia Raya' exhibition
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Visitors of the exhibition, which is slated to run until Thursday, can learn about the national anthem as well as other patriotic Indonesian songs. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
The Lokananta recording studio in Surakarta, Central Java, is hosting an exhibition on the national anthem, Indonesia Raya.
Visitors of the exhibition, which is slated to run until Thursday, can learn about the national anthem as well as other patriotic Indonesian songs in vinyl.
Textual, graphical and audio-visual information at the country’s first recording studio documents the history of Indonesia Raya, including the figures behind the anthem.
Visitors may also have a look at around 40 machines that marked the beginning of Indonesia's recording industry.
The head of state-owned printing company Perum PNRI’s office in Surakarta, Miftah C Zubir, said few people were familiar with Indonesia Raya and the musicians behind it, namely composer Wage Rudolf Supratman and Dutch music arranger Jozef Cleber; the exhibition allowed the public to get to know the national anthem better.
Miftah added that the public needed to know that the song actually had two more stanzas, which are different from the current national anthem.
In 1951, Wage Rudolf Supratman, with help from Cleber as the arranger, reportedly recorded the original national anthem at the Radio Republic Indonesia (RRI) studio in Jakarta. Lokananta later duplicated the recording.
Read also: Govt rerecords 'Indonesia Raya’
Following the first recording, conductor Addie MS did a second recording in Australia in 1997.
In May, the Ministry of Education and Culture recorded the original anthem in five versions: symphony, piano, unison, fanfare and harmony. In addition to the five versions, Lokananta recorded Indonesia Raya in single and three-stanza versions.
Over the past few years, the national anthem has undergone several changes, namely in title and lyrics. In 1948, the government formed a committee to produce guidelines on singing Indonesia Raya.
Ten years later, the government issued Perppu (regulation in lieu of law) No. 44 as guidelines. Based on the Perppu, Indonesia Raya consists of three stanzas, comprising additional lyrics that should be memorized and sung by the citizens. In July this year, the ministry began to promote the three-stanza version of Indonesia Raya at schools. (jes/kes)
