#136: Song of Scheherazade

Scheherazade as painted by Sophie Anderson

Ambe baca kisoh tentang seorang wanita bernama Scheherazade hari ni sambil dengar Song of Scheherazade dari Renaissance. Rasa terbayang masuk dunia Parsi lama dan kisoh 1001 malam!

Lagu 24 minit dari band symphonic-prog Renaissance bercerita tentang Scheherazade, permaisuri yang menjadi isteri Sultan Shahryar. Agaknya nama "Scheherazade" ni bila dimelayukan jadi nama "Shahrizat".

Ambe cari lirik lagu Renaissance ni dan ia kisoh tentang Sultan Persian yang kejam, bunuh isterinya setiap pagi sampailah giliran Scheherazade, yang pandai bercerita kisah dongeng sampailah sultan delay pembunuhannya selama 1000 hari. 

Hari ke 1001 dia dah kehabisan cerita, tapi Sultan dah genuinely jatuh cinta padanya dan Scheherazade dijadikan permaisuri.

Ambe terfikir susahnya menjadi seorang isteri pada lelaki yang complicated. Dari kisoh ni, boleh tengok bahawa dengan pandainya mengambil hati suami, yang jahat pun boleh jadi baik. Suatu seni halus. Dibuat secara perlahan-lahan, dengan konsisten, setiap hari selama hampir 3 tahun (1000 hari).

Banyak kisoh yang diceritakan oleh Scheherazade, antara yang paling terkenal adalah kisoh "Aladin dengan lampu ajaib", "Alibaba dengan 40 orang penyamun" dan "Sinbad".

Ni lirik lagu Song of Scheherazade dari Renaissance:

"The Sultan"

Sultan king cruel majesty

Ordered that his women die

A single night this for all his wives

Takes his pleasure then their lives

And so for many days with the dawn

The sultan had his way

Wives were put to death

His name on their dying breath

Then one day as the evening came

Sultan sends for him a wife

Choose her well charms I wish to see

Bring her, send her in to me

Then came Scheherazade to his side

And her beauty shone

Like a flower grown

Gentle as he'd ever known

Scheherazade bewitched him

With songs of jewelled keys

Princes and of heroes

And eastern fantasies

Told him tales of sultans

And talismans and rings

A thousand and one nights she sang

To entertain her king

She sings, Scheherazade, Scheherazade, etc

"The Young Prince And The Young Princess As Told By Scheherazade"

And you would cause the sun to see your light

And then be shamed

You cover darkness with a thousand secret flames

With your love, oh my love, oh my love, my love

And I would cause the winds to blow a hundred different days

And bring the perfumes of the gardens of the ways

Of your love, oh my love, oh my love, my love

Crystal and the clay, nights and the days

All on the prince's seal

Eagle of the sky, lion of the earth

This is what the seal is worth, what the seal is worth

Holds all of the dreams of a man

Tapestries, wishes of man, pictures and visions of man

The spirit of the soul of the man

And he would vow to love her for the rest of all his days

"The Festival"

Sheherazade this day is yours

The bearers of your gifts now all around you stand

The finest silk made in the land

Is waiting for your choice

It shimmers at your hand

Sheherazade your life is won

You have today the sultan's love

The people watch you step into the sun

Stalls and bars of every kind

Food piled high on woven leaves for all to eat

Drums and flutes at every turn

The music winding, twisting through the crowded streets

Caravans from far away bring people laughing

People come to see the sultan in Baghdad today

Scheherazade her name is known

Her tale is told

The sultan let her life be spared

The festival begins this day

To celebrate her fame

The people sing her praise

Stories sung, the crowds are dancing

To the music and the entertainment all the voices sing

The people call to see the king

The sultan smiles

His story just begun

The sultan and Sheherazade are one

Scheherazade, Scheherazade

She told him tales of sultans and talismans and rings

A thousand and one nights she sang to entertain her king

She sings, Scheherazade, Sheherazade, Scheherazade, etc.

Song of Scheherazade dari Renaissance

#132: Parrot (verb)

"Ello.. Elloo.."

Ze definition

Ambe susoh nok jelaskan lagumana ambe yg tok tahu notation muzik, tapi ambe bermain muzik. Ambe ni jenis Parrot (verb).

Ada burung kakak tua yang boleh bercakap. Tapi ia boleh bercakap sebab ia hanya ulang apa yang diajar tuannya. Ia tok tahu apa yang disebut, tapi ia tahu sebut. Apa yang disebut tu, contohnya "Hello", adalah perkataan yang difahami manusia. Tapi Parrot sebut, tapi ia sebenarnya clueless akan maksud "Hello".

Dari dulu ambe suka dengar lagu. Jazz, Rock, Surf, Metal, secara buta-buta, ambe dengar, dan ambe bunyikan gitar tu berpandukan bunyian, ambe cari satu-per-satu, akhirnya ambe boleh main licks kebanyakan lagu dari Man or Astroman, Kombat and The Kugiran, The Ventures, El-Ray, etc. Dan semua tu tanpa ambe tahu walau 1 chord.

Walaupun ambe berjaya bermain muzik, tapi ada masaalah jugak. Bagi ambe. chord/notation adalah satu kod yang digunakan untuk dokumenkan muzik. Contohnya bahasa percakapan, huruf alphabet adalah digunakan untuk dokumenkan percakapan. Muzik, notation lah. So. ambe boleh main, ambe boleh improvise, tapi ambe tak boleh pass muzik ambe pada orang lain sebab ambe tak ada satu method untuk rekod (kecuali audio lah) dan dokumentasi apa yang ambe main.

Zaman dahulu ada orang yang bekerja sebagai Penglipur Lara, Tugas orang ini adalah bercerita kisah dongeng dulu kala. Ada penglipur lara yang boleh membaca, ada yang buta huruf. Cerita mungkin sedap, tapi tanpa dokumentasi, cerita tu hanya ada dalam kepala penglipur lara itu seorang sahaja (dan pada orang-orang yang telah diceritakan kisahnya). So bila beliau meninggal, kisahnya tak ada lagi kerana tiadanya dokumentasi,

Sedih.

Ambe. Penglipur Lara Parrot (verb) yang buta huruf. Gitu ah. Hahahaha!

Nanti ah ambe belajar :)

El-Ray - Jack The Samurai

#126: My Terrible Friend - When I Decide

My Terrible Friend - When I Decide

Darlin' there's a river near the house where I grew up

And I think it might be moving fast enough

And there's a silence there so thick that you could stick a knife in it

Or anything that you've been dreaming of

And you should know that my affections are always true

And my heart's got a tricky valve that beats for nobody but you

And when I decide to kill you

I'll do it with my hands

And fine gloves worth the death of a gentleman

My words may seem mighty hollow

But don't doubt that I can

'Cos I've got long fingers for a woman

Last night I found a note you wrote and left inside my room

And picked apart the words you didn't choose

I wrote out every one and then I hid them around your room

This love is bound with heart and guts and glue

May I say that my intentions are through and through

And there's a twitch in my left eyebrow that tics for nobody but you

And when I decide to kill you

I'll do it with my hands

And fine gloves worth the death of a gentleman

My words may seem mighty hollow

But don't doubt that I can

'Cos I've got long fingers for a woman

If I should seem distracted

Oh, you needn't be confused

'Cos darlin', you have no idea the things I'd do for you

There's a hole that's in the wall there

And I put it there for you

'Cos darlin' you have no idea the things I'd do to you

And when I decide to kill you

I'll do it with my hands

And fine gloves worth the death of a gentleman

My words may seem mighty hollow

But don't doubt that I can

'Cos I've got long fingers for a woman

#105: The Woven Web by Tosin Abasi.

Tosin Abasi plays The Woven Web.

#36: Arpeggiator On Steroid

Muzik dibawah saya compose menggunakan application yang mempunyai satu tools bernama "Arpeggiator". Saya tiada pendidikan formal dalam muzikal dan perkataan "arpeggio" adalah asing bagi saya tetapi saya menjumpai maksud perkataan "arpeggio" melalui tools bernama Arpeggiator dari application tadi. Menurut google, arpeggio bermaksud "The notes of a chord played in succession, either ascending or descending". Dan itulah yang dilakukan oleh tools bernama Arpeggiator, playing chord in sucession samaada menaik atau menurun. Maka saya compose muzik ini untuk berexperiment dengan arpeggio:

Pertama kali ambe dengar Philip Glass adalah sewaktu menonton filem dokumentari bernama "Koyaanisqatsi" directed by Godfrey Reggio yang menggunakan muzik-muzik instrumental dari Philip Glass sebagai background music pada seluruh filem ini. Muziknya bercirikan pattern yang kecil dengan repetition yang melampau-lampau. Bagi sesetengah orang ia membosankan tapi tidak bagi saya. Pattern yang panjang tapi berulang-ulang memang membosankan tapi pattern pendek yang berulang-ulang tidak.

Kalau anda perhatikan video diatas, anda boleh dengar pattern keyboard dan vocal yang repetitive. Ini adalah konsep yang baru bagi saya dan bagi saya ia adalah menarik tetapi unorthodox dalam penghasilan muzik.