Young and Different with Qasidah Music

KOMPAS/KRISTI D UTAMI

Several students practice qasidah at the Student Activity Center Building, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Semarang City, Central Java, Thursday (23/6/2022).

A video on the performance of Nasida Ria, a legendary qasidah group from Semarang, Central Java, during a concert in Kassel, Germany, received appreciation from netizens. This religious music is popular among young people. For them, the music is cool.

The sound of tambourines, darbuka (goblet drum) and ketipun accompanied the vocal twists of Saniya, 21, when she sang the song "Ya Khoiro Hadi". The qasidah music blared amid the pouring rain at the Semarang PGRI University complex on Thursday night (23/6/2022).

For Saniya, qasidah is not new at all. Since she was a toddler, her ears have been familiar with qasidah because it is often played at home. Inevitably, the student majoring in mathematics education at PGRI Semarang University fell in love with qasidah.

“In the past, when I was in high school, I participated in qasidah activities in the village. Because I wanted to continue to hone my qasidah skills, I joined the RNA’s activities at the university,” said Saniya, from Salatiga city, Central Java.

My mother immediately encouraged me to take part in the audition. I passed in the audition. I was very happy.

Rebana Nurul Asatid (RNA) is the qasidah music group established by students at the campus. Together with RNA, Saniya has frequently performed on stage. Even though they are young, their flying hours are pretty good. They have performed in the cities of Brebes, Tegal, Semarang, Jepara and Rembang.

Qasidah, a religious music genre, has also captivated Makhi, 21, from a young age. The student majoring in teacher education for Islamic elementary schools at the Pekalongan State Islamic Institute, has been practicing singing qasidah since elementary school.

However, at first, Makhi did not think of pursuing a career in the world of qasidah music. That was until one day in 2014, when she heard an announcement on a local radio station that Nasida Ria, the legendary qasidah group from Semarang city which she idolized, would hold an audition to look for new stars.

“My mother immediately encouraged me to take part in the audition. I passed in the audition. I was very happy,” she said when contacted on Friday (24/6/2022).

KOMPAS/KRISTI D UTAMI

Students practice qasidah at the PGRI University Student Activity Center Building, Semarang, Semarang City, Central Java, Thursday (23/6/2022). There are around 80 students of PGRI Semarang University who are members of the activity..

After passing the audition, Makhi did not immediately join Nasida Ria. She had to wait about four years. In 2019, one of Nasida Ria's leaders came to her house to offer her a position on Ezzura, Nasida Ria's "junior" Qasidah group.

Without thinking, Makhi immediately agreed. Together with 11 other people, she was trained to hone her voice and play qasidah musical instruments such as tambourines, drums, flutes, mandolins, guitars, basses, keyboards and violins.

Since joining Ezzura, Makhi has performed hundreds of times. After her flying hours were considered high enough, she performed as the fourth generation of Nasida Ria. Until now, she has performed dozens of times with Nasida Ria, including at the opening ceremony of Documenta Fifteen in Kassel, Germany, on Saturday (18/6).

I will never forget this experience for the rest of my life.

At the event, Nasida Ria performed 10 songs. Three of them were sung by Makhi, namely “Perdamaian” (Peace) “Bom Nuklir” (Nuclear Bomb) and “Pantun Gembira” (Joyful Song).

"I will never forget this experience for the rest of my life. I was really excited, but also very happy to be able to perform abroad with Nasida Ria for the first time," she said.

Relevant

Young people's love for qasidah music has become a phenomenon when millennials generally prefer pop, rock, jazz, folk or K-pop. Fathul Amin, 23, an employee of a private company living in East Jakarta, for example, has been fond of qasidah music since he was five years old.

“Five-year-old kids generally like cartoons. I instead preferred qasidah music. When I joined my mother to go to the market, I always asked to buy qasidah cassettes, especially Nasida Ria. I did not know why," said Fathul.

In fact, even though his family likes qasidah songs, they are not as fanatical as he is. Since obtaining Nasida Ria's tapes, Fathul has never missed playing them every day.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

A qasidah group from Semarang, Nasida Ria, appears at the Synchronize Festival at Gambir Expo, Kemayoran, Jakarta, Sunday (6/10/2019).

Over time, his collection of qasidah tapes grew. He has 36 complete albums of Nasida Ria. They do not include Nasida Ria's other compilation albums and top hits. There are also a number of photos, posters and Nasida Ria calendars at his house.

“Growing up, I just realized the reason I became a fan of Nasida Ria. They are cool. It contains cool women who have extraordinary musical abilities.

“One person can master at least three musical instruments. The songs are all good, very related to me," he said.

From Nasida Ria, Fathul was motivated to learn musical instruments. Self-taught, Fathul can now play the flute, keyboard and violin. He has also been part of a Nasida Ria fan group, namely Nasida Ria’s Friends, since 2012.

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As a diehard fan, Fathul is passionate about watching Nasida Ria's performances. The first performance he saw was in 2012 in North Jakarta. At that time, he was still in the high school. Since then, when Nasida Ria performed around Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, he always watched.

Apart from listening to Nasida Ria's songs, Fathul also enjoys listening to the songs of other qasidah groups, such as Ezzura, Nida Ria and El Hawa. With the increase in the number of the qasidah music groups, he believes that qasidah music will exist for a long time.

Nasida Ria's manager, Zuhad Mahdi, said that Nasida Ria, which celebrates its 47^th anniversary this year, continued to prepare its regeneration through successor groups such as Ezzura and Qasidah Tanpa Nama (QTN). Young people who are interested in learning qasidah are recruited to become members of QTN. Their abilities are honed until they are qualified to become Ezzura members, then Nasida Ria members.

A study entitled “The Existence of the Kasidah Nasida Ria, Semarang Music Group in Facing Modernization” by Umi Cholifah in the community journal of the Semarang State University (2011) showed that Nasida Ria still existed because it often appeared on television or on various events. However, innovation and the use of information technology are needed so that qasidah music continues to be relevant to its audience.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi