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ArtSwara Productions is set to bring romance center stage tonight at Balai Kartini’s Nusa Indah Theater with a second run of “Komposisi Delapan Cinta” (“Eight Love Compositions”).

First shown at Salihara Theater in South Jakarta, on Valentine’s Day this year, the concert marked the release of the album by the same name, put together by pianist-composer-arranger Dian Hadi Pranowo, known as Dian HP, and the multitalented singer Nyak Ina Raseuki, also known as Ubiet Raseuki.

The Valentine’s Day performance at Salihara Theater received rave reviews from audience members and critics alike, both in the mass media and online, sparking widespread curiosity about the show.

“Many said they didn’t know about the concert and were sorry to have missed out,” said Maera Arifin Panigoro, managing director of ArtSwara.

Nusa Indah Theater can accommodate almost 700 people — more than three times the capacity of Salihara.

“Hopefully, this time more people will have the chance to come and enjoy the show,” Maera said.

The first concert consisted of a simple acoustic performance by Ubiet as a solo vocalist, standing barefoot on stage, accompanied by an ensemble of piano, violin, cello, flute, marimba, clarinet and contrabass.

“It was such a beautiful and intimate concert,” Maera said. “The songs touched my heart. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks to the very end.”

The beauty of the music was highlighted by the simplicity of the stage set, which eschewed the usual decorations and lighting tricks.

“We wanted to present the music in its purest and simplest form,” said Dian, who arranged all the music for the show. “We didn’t use any props or special lighting. We didn’t want to distract the audience from the music and its beautiful lyrics.”

The lyrics for each song were taken from the book “On Nothing” (2005), by the celebrated poet Sitok Srengenge, and “Buli-Buli Lima Kaki” (“Five-Foot Jars,” 2010), by the poet and essayist Nirwan Dewanto.

Dian, who has previously worked on musical scores for television, cinema and stage musicals, said the process of turning poetry into music was challenging.

“It’s not a mere musicalization of poetry,” she said. “I didn’t simply put notes to the poems. I had to get into the underlying feelings of the poems to convey their real meaning through music.”

Dian said she had to read, reread and contemplate the poetry for weeks before she could begin work on the compositions. The process was complicated by the poets’ insistence that not a single word of their poems could be changed to fit the music.

“What was written had to remain,” Sitok said. “It was really up to Dian’s skills and expertise to compose the music to suit my poetry.”

In the end, the poets were pleased with the results.

“It was exhilarating for me to hear my poems sung in concert,” Sitok said. “It brought a whole new dimension of meaning to each word and sentence.”

Nirwan agreed. “I loved the music that Dian wrote for ‘Quintet,’ ” he said, referring to one of his poems that tells of the suffering of musical instruments at the hands of musicians who use them for their own glory. “She made something that was dark and somber into something light and fun, without losing any of the poem’s meaning.”

The compositions were carried by Ubiet’s light and clear voice. The accomplished Acehnese soprano has recorded a number of solo albums, including “Archipelagongs” (2000), “Music for Solo Performer: Ubiet Sings Tony Prabowo” (2006) and “Ubiet & Keroncong Tenggara” (2007).

Ubiet holds a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, but her music is easily accessible for all listeners.

“I didn’t use any vibrato [technique in the show],” she said. “I didn’t want to make it too heavy and serious for the audience. I didn’t want them to have to frown and think in order to understand the songs. I just wanted them to enjoy themselves.”

At tonight’s show, the audience will be treated to a repeat performance of the entire repertoire of the Valentine’s Day show, plus a couple of poetry readings from Sitok and Nirwan.

“I’m going to read ‘Kau Angin’ (‘You Are Wind’),” Sitok said. “It’s one of my early poems, composed 20 years ago, in 1991.”

The 46-year-old poet likens love to the wind. “Love is something lithe and elusive,” Sitok said. “Everybody feels it, yet nobody can truly grasp it.”

‘Komposisi Delapan Cinta’ (‘Eight Love Compositions’)
Tickets:
Rp 250,000 ($30)
For reservations, contact ArtSwara at
021 99555778 or
021 90407469