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Composing Malaysian Popular Music for the Orchestra in the Early 21St Century Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Pek, Isabella (2021) Composing Malaysian popular music for the Orchestra in the early 21st century. PhD thesis, Middlesex University. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/33063/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. 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See also repository copyright: re-use policy: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/policies.html#copy COMPOSING MALAYSIAN POPULAR MUSIC FOR THE ORCHESTRA IN THE EARLY 21st CENTURY This thesis is submitted to Middlesex University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of mixed-mode PhD Isabella Pek School of Media and Performing Arts Middlesex University June 2020 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 Background information and research subject matter ........................................ 2 Find improvement in the practice of composition ..................................................... 4 The use of Malaysian traditional instruments ............................................................ 5 Research Gap and Expected Contribution to Scholarly Knowledge ..................... 6 Structure of thesis .............................................................................................. 7 Problems in approaching a practice-based research PhD .................................... 8 Research methods and theoretical framework ................................................. 10 CHAPTER 1 CONTEXTUALIZING MY PRACTICE ............................................ 17 1.1 GENERAL OUTLINE OF POPULAR MUSIC IN MALAYSIA ......................... 18 1.1.1 The Influence of Geography ........................................................................ 19 1.1.2 The Influence of History ............................................................................... 21 1.2 DEFINITION OF POPULAR MUSIC IN MALAYSIA .................................... 22 1.2.1 The Features of Popular Music in Malaysia .............................................. 23 1.2.2 Popular Music Orchestral Composers ....................................................... 27 1.3 BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC TRAINING AND CONNECTION ................. 29 1.3.1 Other music education ..................................................................................... 32 1.3.2 Scope of work and judgement of taste and value ........................................... 33 1.4 VALUE. TASTE ...................................................................................... 35 1.4.1 Multiculturalism. Interculturalism ................................................................... 37 1.4.2 Hybridity. Power .............................................................................................. 40 ii 1.5 MY PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE & THE SUBMISSION PORTFOLIO ............. 41 1.5.1 Everyday practice .......................................................................................... 42 1.5.2 Every Day ....................................................................................................... 44 1.6 Case Study: KONSERT RAJA & RAKYAT BERPISAH TIADA ...................... 49 1.6.1 Background information to the Concert ..................................................... 49 1.6.2 The Birthday Celebration of the Sultan ...................................................... 50 1.6.3 The orchestral line-up and Istana Budaya ................................................. 52 1.6.4 The seven singer artists ............................................................................... 57 1.6.5 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 65 1.7 Case Study: ‘Simfonika 1Malaysia’ ....................................................... 67 1.7.1 Political, Commercial and Diaspora .............................................................. 72 1.7.2 ‘Folk’ source: authentic inauthenticity ........................................................ 78 1.7.3 The ‘Grain’ of the Voice ................................................................................ 82 CHAPTER 2: PRACTICE PORTFOLIO: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS ................ 85 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 85 2.1 ‘12356 MDX’ ........................................................................................ 88 2.1.1 ‘12356 MDX’ – an introduction .................................................................... 88 2.1.2 String quartet ................................................................................................... 90 2.1.3 The ‘Grain’ of the String Quartet and Black & White Visuals .................. 90 2.1.4 Popular Turn – Malaysian Turn ................................................................... 92 2.1.5 Pentatonic and Colours ................................................................................ 94 2.1.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 96 2.2 Ti Oh Oh .............................................................................................. 97 2.3 Lenggang Kangkung (from Muo Li Hua Concert) ................................ 103 2.3.1 Traces of the influence of my study in the UK ........................................ 105 2.3.2 The composition and the performance .................................................... 106 iii 2.3.3 Miss Landmine and the beauty of handicap ............................................ 110 2.4 Jambatan Tamparuli .......................................................................... 112 2.4.1 Discussion .................................................................................................... 116 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 120 Research Undertaking, its origins and development ....................................... 120 Chapter Guide and Summary ......................................................................... 124 List of Audio and Video Material .................................................................... 127 Suggestions for future research ...................................................................... 128 Appendix 1 .............................................................................................. 131 Appendix 2 List of Musicians ................................................................ 132 Appendix 3 Simfonika 1Malaysia RecoRding – Studio Plan .................... 133 Appendix 4 DiRectoR’s Notes .................................................................. 134 Appendix 5 The Spectrum of Colours ....................................................... 136 Appendix 6 WoRks Catalog (JanuaRy 2010 – October 2012) ................... 138 RefeRences ............................................................................................... 140 iv ABSTRACT This music composition practice-based thesis is aimed at documenting and analysing my professional context as a popular music orchestral composer in Malaysia. Out of the 120 minutes of music I had composed, conducted and recorded during my doctoral study in London, I have selected four pieces to be included in the composition portfolio for discussion and analysis. Accounting for lived professional experience of more than 26 years in Malaysia, and connecting these experiences to the doctoral studies and practice in London, I view my practice as the subject and I write evocative narratives on my creative, research and professional lives. The main subject matters of this research are everyday professional composition practices striving for an improvement in the composition skills; and the use of traditional instruments juxtaposed with Western music ensembles in the compositions. I describe the professional music context
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