Ismail Marzuki (also known as Bang Ma'ing; 11 May 1914 – 25 May 1958) was an Indonesian composer, songwriter and musician who wrote around 202 to 240 songs between 1931 and 1958, including numerous popular patriotic songs. Among his best-known works are "

Halo, Halo Bandung Halo, Halo Bandung is an Indonesian patriotic song written by Ismail Marzuki that describes the spirit of the struggle of the people of the city of Bandung in the post-independence period in 1946, particularly in the Bandung Sea of Fire that o ...

", "

Gugur Bunga "Gugur Bunga di Taman Bakti" (''The Fallen Flower in the Garden of Devotion''), better known as "Gugur Bunga", is an Indonesian patriotic song written by Ismail Marzuki in 1945. Written to honor the Indonesian soldiers killed during the Indonesi ...

", and " Rayuan Pulau Kelapa". In 1968, he was honoured with the creation of the well-known '' Taman Ismail Marzuki'' (the Ismail Marzuki Park, often called ''TIM'') which is a cultural centre in Menteng in central Jakarta. In 2004 he was declared one of the

National Heroes of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

Biography

Marzuki was born in Kwitang,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

(formerly known as Batavia) to a wealthy Betawi family. His father Marzuki owned an

automobile repair shop An automobile repair shop (also known regionally as a garage or a workshop) is an establishment where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and technicians. Types Automotive garages and repair shops can be divided into following categor ...

, and played the rebana; his mother died while giving birth to him. From a young age Marzuki enjoyed music, listening to songs repeatedly on the family's

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

and learning to play the rebana,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, and guitar. Marzuki studied at an elementary school for Native Indonesians, the HIS (''Hollandsch Inlandsche School'') in Menteng; he later attended the Dutch-language middle school MULO ('' Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs'') on Mendjangan Street (now Kwini I Street) in Jakarta. He became fluent in Indonesian, English, and Dutch. He also studied religion at Unwanul Wustha

Madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

. However, he did not study music formally, instead learning by himself. In 1931, he wrote his first song, "''O Sarinah''", which was about a suffering people. During his career he wrote between 202 and 204 songs. Among his most famous compositions are "''

'', "'' Rayuan Pulau Kelapa''" (1944, ''Solace on Coconut Island''), ''" Gugur Bunga di Taman Bakti''" (1945, ''The Fallen Flower in Bakti Garden''), and "''Selendang Sutera''" (1946, ''A Coil of Silk''). Lief Java jazz division

Marzuki started his music career by joining the Lief Java Orchestra by the mid 1930s. During this time he performed regularly with the group at Studio Orkes NIROM II in Tegalega,

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

, as part of the NIROM (''Nederlandsch-Indische Radio-omroepmaatschappij)'' station's Eastern Programme. Sometime around 1937 the group left NIROM and joined the rival station VORO (''Vereeniging voor Oostersche Radio Omroep''), playing live every Saturday. Afterwards he led the Jakarta Studio Orchestra, the Bandung Studio Orchestra, and later the Hoso Kanri Kyoku orchestra during

Japanese occupation of Indonesia The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In ...

. In 1957 he wrote his last song, "''Inikah Bahagia''" (''Is This Happiness''). He died at 14:00 on 25 May 1958 in his house in

Tanah Abang Tanah Abang is a district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The district hosts the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang Market. It hosts Bung Karno Stadium, in Kelurahan Gelora, and the western half of the largely skyscraper-dom ...

, Jakarta. He is buried in

Karet Bivak Cemetery Karet Bivak is a cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the second largest in the city. Description Karet Bivak is located in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It covers an area of , making it the second-largest cemetery in Jakarta. In 2007 it contained a ...

Style

Marzuki's anthems are full of patriotism and love for Indonesia, with a spirit of unity and harmony. They are easy to remember, with simple lyrics and melodies. The

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

are generally mid-range, making the songs easier to sing.

Personal life

Marzuki married Eulis Zuraidah, a Sundanese '' keroncong'' singer and orchestra member from

, in 1940. His wife became the inspiration of his Sundanese song "''Panon Hideung''", which is the Sundanese version of Dark Eyes. He re-arranged the song in new lyrics but with the same title in Sundanese ("Panon Hideung" literally means "Black Eyes"). Marzuki enjoyed collecting musical instruments. His collection included guitars, mandolins, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, accordions, and a piano. He was known for being fiercely nationalistic, once selling gado-gado with his wife instead of cooperating with the Dutch-Allied NICA (''Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie'') during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcol ...

. However, he also had a romantic side, writing songs like "''Kalau Anggrek Berbunga''" ('' c.'' 1942–1945, ''When the Orchid Blossoms''), "''Jauh di Mata Di Hati Jangan''" (1947), ''Far from the Eyes (But Not the Heart)'' and "''Siasat Asmara''" (1948, ''Love's Tactics'').

Legacy

Grave of Ismail Marzuki, Karet Bivak Cemetery

Marzuki has been described as "having good instincts for music", as well as a "genius" and "legendary". Besides as a piano, saxophone, guitar, accordion, and harmonium player, he was also well known as a singer with a heavy and deep baritone voice which some of his friends gave him nickname "Bing Crosby from Kwitang". A large number of Marzuki's songs have been rerecorded and released in different genres, including pop music and keroncong, such as "Kr. Pasar Gambir dan Stambul Anak Jampang" (''Kroncong of Gambir Market and Stambul of the Cowlicked Child'') which was covered by

Chrisye Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), born Christian Rahadi (), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011 ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared ...

on the album '' Dekade'' with arrangement by

Erwin Gutawa Erwin Gutawa Sumapraja (born 16 May 1962) is an Indonesian composer. In 1985, he started his professional music career by joining the jazz band Karimata, later becoming an independent composer in 1991. As a composer, he won the 1992 Midnight S ...

. Several of his songs, including "Halo, Halo Bandung", "Gugur Bunga", "Melati di Tapal Batas", "Selendang Sutra", "Pahlawan Muda", and " Rayuan Pulau Kelapa", are considered compulsory and taught in schools. Classical composer

Ananda Sukarlan Ananda Sukarlan-Gomez (born in Jakarta, 10 June 1968) is an Indonesian-Spanish classical composer and pianist. Background He is the son of Sukarlan and Poppy Kumudastuti. He started his music lessons at the age of 5 from his older sister, Martani ...

has made virtuoso music for piano and/or orchestra based on his songs such as Selendang Sutra,

Indonesia Pusaka "Indonesia Pusaka" ( en, Indonesia, the Heritage) is a patriotic song composed by Ismail Marzuki. It is normally played on Indonesian Independence Day celebration. Lyrics First verse: Indonesia tanah air beta Pusaka abadi nan jaya Indonesia seja ...

and Rayuan Pulau Kelapa. On 16 August 1961 Marzuki received the first Wijaya Kusuma award from President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

. He was honoured posthumously in 1968 with the opening of Taman Ismail Marzuki, a cultural centre and park in central Jakarta. He was recognized as a

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

in November 2004 by declaration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

List of composed songs

* ''Aryati'' * ''Bandaneira'' * ''Bandung Selatan di Waktu Malam'' (1948) * ''Beta dan Ayunda'' * ''Gagah Perwira'' (1944) * ''Gita Malam'' * ''

'' * ''Halo Halo Bandung'' * ''

'' (1940) * ''Inikah Bahagia'' * ''Jangan Ditanya'' * ''Jauh di Mata Di Hati Jangan'' * ''Juwita Malam'' * ''Kalau Anggrek Berbunga'' * ''Karangan Bunga dari Selatan'' * ''Kasim Baba'' * ''Kasih Putus di Tengah Jalan'' * ''Keroncong Serenata'' * ''Lenggang Bandung'' * ''Melati di Tapal Batas'' (1947) * ''O Angin Sampaikan Salamku'' * ''O Kopral Jono'' * ''O Sarinah'' (1931) * ''Panon Hideung'' (1931) * ''Patah Cincin'' * '' Rayuan Pulau Kelapa'' * ''Rindu Lukisan'' * ''Roselani'' * ''Sabda Alam'' * ''Sampul Surat'' (1943) * ''Saputangan dari Bandung Selatan'' * ''Sejuta Bintang'' * ''Selamat Datang Pahlawan Muda'' (1949) * ''Selendang Sutra'' * ''Sepasang Mata Bola'' (1946) * ''Setangkai Bunga Mawar'' (1943) * ''Siasat Asmara'' * ''Sumbangsihku'' (1946) * ''Wanita'' * ''Ibu Pertiwi''

References

External links

*
"Komponis" Bio Ismail Marzuki on Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marzuki, Ismail 1914 births 1958 deaths 20th-century composers Betawi people Indonesian composers National Heroes of Indonesia People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies People from Jakarta