TY - JOUR
T1 - Hybridity and harmony
T2 - Nineteenth-century British discourse on syncretism and intercultural compatibility in Malay music
AU - Irving, David R.M.
PY - 2014/5
Y1 - 2014/5
N2 - Nineteenth-century British writers made frequent observations on Malay music, which are preserved in multiple forms of ethnographic writings and travel accounts, as well as dictionaries and linguistic treatises. Although the cultural boundaries of Malay ethnicity remained a subject of debate, British writers distinguished Malay music from Chinese, Indian, and Javanese traditions. The types of musical practices they observed in the urban centres of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore were probably syncretic traditions, incorporating stylistic influences from several cultures. The melodies from some of these genres were considered analogous to European music, and some writers speculated on reasons for this, such as the earlier influence of Portuguese colonialism. Malay music was transcribed in European staff notation; James Low published a collection of 28 'Malayan melodies' in 1837. The perceived affinities between Malay and European musics in melody and harmony led to comments on the adaptability of Malay melodies within European genres, and the production of exoticist works for pianoforte and other instruments. The earliest published 'Malay Tune' (1807) is discussed here, along with other examples from the 19th century.
AB - Nineteenth-century British writers made frequent observations on Malay music, which are preserved in multiple forms of ethnographic writings and travel accounts, as well as dictionaries and linguistic treatises. Although the cultural boundaries of Malay ethnicity remained a subject of debate, British writers distinguished Malay music from Chinese, Indian, and Javanese traditions. The types of musical practices they observed in the urban centres of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore were probably syncretic traditions, incorporating stylistic influences from several cultures. The melodies from some of these genres were considered analogous to European music, and some writers speculated on reasons for this, such as the earlier influence of Portuguese colonialism. Malay music was transcribed in European staff notation; James Low published a collection of 28 'Malayan melodies' in 1837. The perceived affinities between Malay and European musics in melody and harmony led to comments on the adaptability of Malay melodies within European genres, and the production of exoticist works for pianoforte and other instruments. The earliest published 'Malay Tune' (1807) is discussed here, along with other examples from the 19th century.
KW - Low, James
KW - Malay music
KW - ethnography
KW - ethnomusicology
KW - syncretism
KW - transcription
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902517398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13639811.2014.912408
DO - 10.1080/13639811.2014.912408
M3 - Article
SN - 1363-9811
VL - 42
SP - 197
EP - 221
JO - Indonesia and the Malay World
JF - Indonesia and the Malay World
IS - 123
ER -