Nobat ensemble trains to perfect the strains

By Balqis Jamaludin and Zalina Maizan Ngah

KUALA TERENGGANU, July 25 (Bernama) -- The Terengganu Royal Nobat Emsemble has been training hard for the past two months to give its best performance at the installation of Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on July 30.

The 10-member royal court orchestra trains for two hours daily at a special location at Istana Syarqiyyah here, playing the songs selected to be performed at the historic ceremony.

The head of the Terengganu Royal Nobat Ensemble, Tengku Ibrahim Tengku Ismail, 68, said they are using six 99-year-old musical instruments which not only have their own distinctive features but have had the music of the palace reverberating since 1920.

These instruments are the gendang ibu (a barrel drum), gendang anak (small drum), gendang saku or nahara (a melodic drum), nafiri (long clarinet), serunai (flute) and a pair of kopak-kopak (mini cymbals). Some of these musical instruments are made of silver and copper.

"On a part of the nafiri and other musical instruments 1338H is engraved in tiny Jawi script,” Tengku Ibrahim told Bernama when approached at Istana Syarqiyyah. He has been playing the nafiri for more than 30 years.

He said there is a certain decorum to playing the musical instruments of the royal court orchestra and the nobat ensemble must ensure that they are in good health, especially those who blow the nafiri.

Tengku Ibrahim, who inherited the nafiri from his predecessor, said that during the training he would rest for a few minutes to ensure he has the breath to keep blowing because the nobat songs are usually played for three to five minutes.

"After practising two or three songs, I have to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, not only in terms of the breath but also to prevent any distortion of the sound from the nafiri. If it is blown non-stop, it (nafiri) may not produce any sound,” he said.

Although he feels a little nervous, Tengku Ibrahim is confident that his group will be able to deliver the best performance as it has been training every week throughout the year even if there is no event or ceremony.

At the upcoming installation, the Iskandar song will be performed upon the arrival of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, followed by the Ibrahim Khalil song after the King’s address and the Seri Istana song when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong leaves.

Based on the origins of the Terengganu Royal Nobat Ensemble, the traditional music was usually performed every day, in the mornings and evenings, during royal wedding ceremonies, in the evenings during the fasting month and every Thursday evening at the palace of residence of the sultan.

"But now, the nobat is no longer played at these times but only at ceremonies such as at the audience during an investiture, installations, and weddings.

"The nobat is played only for the sultan or selected personalities, and is performed only in the palace," he said.

Tengku Ibrahim said he has yet to find any individual capable of making the nobat musical instruments well and, therefore, the instruments are well looked after and only selected individuals can use them.

Besides the three songs that will be performed at the installation, the Terengganu Royal Nobat Ensemble can also perform three other songs, namely Arak-Arak, Palu-Palu Melayu and Bersiram.

The unique feature is that to this day, no specific musical notes have been written for nobat songs, and the nobat musicians, called Orang Nobat, just listen to and memorise every song that is passed down from generation to generation.

"Indeed, from the beginning, there have been no notes. We have committed all the songs to memory. All members of the ensemble have to perform as one whenever we play a song. We have to just mention the name of the song, and everyone knows what to do.

"New nobat musicians have to listen carefully to every song and memorise it. It may take up to two months to commit a song to memory," said Tengku Ibrahim, who inherited the ability to play the nobat from his father, Tengku Ismail Tengku Sulaiman.

He said that at one time, the Terengganu Royal Nobat Ensemble members comprised only the children of royalty but over the years the common people were allowed to be in the group, and it is now handed down to the descendants of this select group.

-- BERNAMA