JOHOR BARU: SOME 600 people attended a two-night traditional Malay musical concert entitled A Night of Malay Classical Music, organised by the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO), Johor Heritage Foundation (JHF) and Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia (OTM) recently.
Held at the foundation’s complex (formerly Mawar complex), the concert was held in conjunction with the birthday of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar who turned 56 on Nov 22.
MYPO had a 35-member team of string, brass and percussion instrumentalists, while OTM had 11 Asian traditional instrument performers. JHF had 12 musicians and three background singers.
Dancers from JHF entertained the audience with performances of zapin and joget.
The three organisations produced harmonious traditional tunes of yesteryear such as Seri Mersing, Joget Johor Sports Club, Penawar Rindu and a medley of hits by the late Datuk Sharifah Aini.
Twenty songs, including three instrumentals, were performed under the baton of Yazid Zakaria and Omar Taib.
Yazid is the conductor of MPYO while Omar is JHF director of music.
Five vocalists — Norihan Saif, Abdul Rahman Kamaruddin, Wahida Abdul Rahman, Natasya Yazer and Rasyidah Abdul Rahim — each performed a selection of the songs.
Except for Norihan who is attached to Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur, the other four artistes were from JHF.
All eyes were on Omar who served as the conductor at the RTM Johor orchestra in the 1980s and had composed several hits such as Rindu Bayangan and Kehadiran Mu made popular by Carefree and the late Sudirman, respectively.
The first day of the concert, however, was reserved for the royal family, senior state government officers and representatives from other government bodies and non-governmental organisations. On the second day, the hall was packed with guests, ranging from youngsters to the elderly.
The concert began with Tanjung Puteri, an evergreen number popular among Johoreans.
The crowd was amused when Johor-born Norihan, clad in a Johor Baju Melayu, kicked off the show with Sri Mersingwhich was composed by the late Pak Lomak and Bunga Ros.
The crowd then clapped to the beat of Joget Johor Sports Club, an instrumental piece, which was improvised into various movements.
Seasoned vocalist Abdul, aka Ahmad Jais of the JHF, was superb when he sang Zapin Saujana and Asmara Terkenangwhile his daughter, Wahida, sang Dayang Senandung, an Asli hit, and Penawar Rindu, a Dangdut number made popular by the late Datin Orchid Abdullah.
Newcomers Natasya and Rasyidah charmed guests with Joget Batu Pahat/Tualang Tiga and a repertoire of Sharifah Aini’s songs.
Rasyidah, who was groomed by her father, a retired music teacher, sang four of Sharifah’s hits including Seri Dewi Malamand Kekasih Pujaan.
The performance ended with Abdul and Norihan singing Hari Ribut as enthusiastic youngsters performed a zapin dance, much to the delight of the audience.
A guest who only wished to be known as Mariam, 70, praised the organisers for the wonderful concert.
“The musical performances were fantastic and they brought back a lot of memories.
“This the best show I’ve ever attended,” she said.
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