Tembang Sunda Cianjuran is sung poetry from West Java, Indonesia. The songs are mostly sung solo by men and women, and the accompaniment is provided by a large zither (kacapi indung), a bamboo flute (suling), and - in metric songs - also by a small zither (kacapi rincik). The songs are played in different tone systems. In some songs of the repertoire, that is, songs in the saléndro tone system, a two-string bowed lute (rebab) is used.
The texts of the songs are, for instance, about the glorious past of Sunda and the legendary kings like Siliwangi. Further, the songs describe West Javanese nature, and the most important topic is love.
Tembang Sunda Cianjuran may be performed during an evening’s gathering at someone’s house, just for the pleasure of the musicians and their relatives and friends. It may also be performed for the entertainment of some guest. In addition, it may be played at wedding or circumcision parties, or during the meal for the well-being of people (hajat, selamatan). During the late afternoon the music is often played in the reception halls of hotels.
The songs are played in sets, starting with recitative-like songs (mamaos songs), and always ending with a metric song in ‘four-beat measure’ (Panambih). The metric songs are also played in an instrumental form (kacapi-suling), whereby the bamboo flute plays the melody with the special flute ornaments.
The group Dangiang Parahiangan was formed by Wim van Zanten, who collaborated with the Sundanese musicians Uking Sukri (1925-1994) and Yus Wiradiredja (born 1960) in developing educational materials for this music.
Musicians of Dangiang Parahiangan in 2013
| Tuti Hasanah | singing (juru mamaos, kacapi rincik) | |
| Sinta Wullur | singing (juru mamaos) | |
| Igor Boog | large zither (kacapi indung) | |
| Wim van Zanten | small zither (kacapi rincik and kacapi indung) | |
| Ronald Bergman | bamboo flute (suling) |
Dangiang Parahiangan group plays for life radio broadcast WDR 3, 12
November 2005, Herne, Germany.
From left to right: Sinta Wullur (singing), Nanni Tempelman (kacapi rincik),
Ronald Bergman (suling),
Wim van Zanten (kacapi indung).
A few occasions where the group performed:
| 13 Jan 2013 | Vestzaktheater, Enschede, Concert of Cianjuran music. |
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| 12 Sept 2012 | Concert in Gergiev Festival, C the City, in Luxor Theatre, Rotterdam. | |
| 22 May 2010 | Bintang Theatre, Tong Tong Festival The Hague. Concert of Cianjuran music and kacapi-suling with jazz-pianist Rob Agerbeek. | |
| 10 Nov 2007 | Markiezenhof, Bergen op Zoom on the occasion of the Sakko Prize for Culture given to Albert Hagenaars. | |
| 30 May 2006 | Bintang Theatre at Pasar Malam Besar, Den Haag (The Hague). | |
| 12 Nov 2005 | Kulturzentrum Herne, Germany, at the occasion of the Tage alter Musik 2005, together with the first performance of Träume by Piet Hein van de Poel, and the music ensemble Convoce.coeln. Live broadcast by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (WDR 3). | |
| 18 June 2005 | Performance in the programme Indische Zomer in the Centrale Bibliotheek, Spui, The Hague | |
| 3 December 2004 | Indonesian Embassy, The Hague, at the occasion of the presentation of the first copy of the Dutch-Indonesian dictionary by Susi Moeimam and Hein Steinhouwer to the Indonesian ambassador. Organised by the KITLV and the Indonesian Embassy. | |
| 2 June 2004 | Radio Kootwijk. Commemorating the first radio broadcast to Bandung, Indonesia, 75 years ago. Organised by the VPRO; life broadcast. | |
| 17 May 2003 | Museum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS). | |
| 30 March 2002 | Paviljoen De Witte, Scheveningen. Playing at a wedding reception. | |