Chiayi puts on musical feast

Some of the groups appearing at the Asian Music Festival, including Urna, and the Indonesian percussion group Sambasunda. PHOTO COURTESY OF TREES MUSIC

Summer solstice marks the day when the sun rises and falls along the axis of the Tropic of Cancer. It also marks the day when summer officially arrives and Chiayi County, through which the Tropic of Cancer passes through, will welcome the day with a special event this year.

The Asian Music Festival (夏至亞洲音樂節) has invited ethnic musicians from Japan, Iran, Mongolia and Indonesia, as well as local musicians, to give performances at the Chiayi County Garden Plaza.

There will be also be a mini film festival, showcasing four contemporary Mongolian movies in front of the plaza of the Chiayi County Government building, from June 25 to 27.

"This year will be the first time for Chiayi County to promote Asian cultural exchanges. We want to continue promoting such events and we hope Chiayi will become the new cultural window for Asian culture," said Chiayi County magistrate Chen Ming-wen (陳明文).

Chen said promoting Asian culture was part of a plan to prepare for the establishment of the Southern Court National Palace Museum (故宮南院), which is in Chiayi's Taipao City and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TREES MUSIC

Chen said the collection at the Southern Court National Palace Museum would feature collections from many Asian countries, in order to differentiate itself from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which shows mainly Chinese pieces.

The festival opening, called the Chu-lo Ceremony (諸羅祭), (Chu-lo is the ancient name for Chiayi), features musical groups from Chiayi and Aboriginal culture. The Tso people from Mount Ali, the largest Aboriginal tribe in Chiayi, will lead the opening ceremony with traditional dances and music. The Taiwanese Northern Winds ensemble will also perform.

Urna, an ensemble from Mongolia, and Cicala Mvta from Japan, will present performances tonight. Iran's Chemirani Trio and two Indonesian groups Sambasunda and Jugala Dance Group will perform tomorrow. Sunday night will include a jam session for the five groups, as well as the closing ceremony.

Sambasunda has been described as the best percussion group performing Indonesian traditional music in west Java, by the Journal of Australia Indonesia Arts Alliance. The musicians are best know for their passion and energy, combining world percussion and Gamelan music.

Chemirani Trio is led by Djmachid Chemirani, one of the two remaining master zarb musicians, a traditional Iranian drum.

Urna is the most active Asian singer in Europe in the field of world music. Having released two albums, she has just received the prestigious Ruth Award at The German Folk and World Music Awards. Urna works well with traditional Mongolian music and European folk music, with violin players from Hungary and percussionists from Turkey. She utilizes not just the double-throat technique that Mongolia is famous for. Her voice can be as pure and innocent as a baby, strong and thick like a saxophone, and loud and sonorous like a witch.

Cicala Mvta is a group described by some UK music critics as the most impressive exponents of contemporary Japanese grass roots music. The music presents old-fashioned and brass band music. Featuring chindon, a kind of Japanese drum, saxophones, clarinets and tubas, Cicala Mvta's music is a kind of street music originally played at funerals or the openings of local shops. But the band blends the cheesy music with social critique, thus creating a sarcastic outlook, in both its musical style and in its stage performance.

Jugala Dance Group is the primary group preserving the traditional Jaipongan dance, which features Indonesian martial arts and string music. West Javanese music was popular throughout Indonesia in the 1980s. At the festival, dancers will not only perform on stage but also teach Chiayi people how to do the Jaipongan dance.