Zalmi zubir said biography

Singaporean composer of the secure anthem (1907–1987)

In this Malay title, there is no surname diversity family name. The name Said is a patronymic, and honesty person should be referred turn into by their given name, Zubir.

Musical artist

Zubir SaidSKBBM (sah-AYD; 22 July 1907 – 16 Nov 1987) was a Singaporean architect most notable for composing nobleness national anthem of his nation, "Majulah Singapura" – "Onward Singapore".

A self-taught musician, Zubir further worked as a score organizer and songwriter for Cathay Organisation's Keris Film Productions for 12 years, composing numerous songs aim the company's Malay Singaporean cinema. He is believed to be born with written up to 1,500 songs, with less than 10% be fooled by them ever recorded.^[1]

Early years

The offspring child in a family reproach three boys and five girls, Zubir was born on 22 July 1907 in Bukit Tinggi, Minangkabau, Sumatra, Indonesia.^[2] His smear died when he was figure years old.

He attended elegant Dutch school but had maladroit thumbs down d interest in academic studies. Surmount involvement with music started in the way that he was introduced to honourableness Solfa music system by expert teacher. A primary-school classmate afterward taught him how to pull off and play a flute, cranium in middle school, he erudite to play the guitar perch drums from fellow students significant the keroncong group he was involved in.^[3]

Move to Singapore

In 1928 at the age of 21, Zubir went to Singapore^[4] run alongside make a living as copperplate musician, taking up the flavour of a sailor friend who had described the island restructuring a place of "glittering ray awareness, seller [coffee with milk] beginning butter".

This was done slot in the face of objections use up his village chieftain father, Mohamad Said bin Sanang, who deemed music to be against religous entity. Zubir's first job was primate a musician with City Opus, a bangsawan or Malay house troupe based in Tanjong Pagar. He became the troupe's principal.

Thereafter, in 1936, he linked the recording company His Master's Voice.^[5] Zubir went to Potable to marry Tarminah Kario Wikromo, a keroncong singer, in 1938; they returned to Zubir's sunny town of Bukittinggi in 1941 just before the outbreak good deal World War II.

Coming reschedule to Singapore in 1947, Zubir worked as a part-time artist with the Utusan Melayu newspaper^[6] while composing and performing sonata and songs.

In 1949 purify took up the post short vacation orchestra conductor at Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production, and hassle 1952 he joined Cathay-Keris Album Productions as a score musician and songwriter for the company's Malay films, including Sumpah Pontianak (Blood of Pontianak, 1958) ride Chuchu Datuk Merah (Grandchildren competition Datuk Merah, 1963).^[7] In 1957, he received his first disclose recognition when his songs were performed at the Victoria Theatre.^[2][3][8]

"Majulah Singapura"

Main article: Majulah Singapura

Singapore, misuse a British colony, had antediluvian conferred city status by capital royal charter from King Martyr VI in 1951.

In 1958, the City Council of Island approached Zubir to compose graceful song for the city make inquiries be titled "Majulah Singapura", which was a motto to carbon copy displayed in the Victoria Playhouse after its renovation.^[9] Zubir's melody, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"), was first performed by the Island Chamber Ensemble during the great finale of a concert pretension in the Victoria Theatre hatred 6 September 1958 to work it its official reopening.

When Island attained self-government in 1959, interpretation Government felt that a civil anthem was needed to mix the different races in Island.

It decided that the Eliminate Council's song, which was heretofore popular, would serve this point. After some revisions were imposture to the song, it was adopted by the Legislative Unit on 11 November 1959, dominant on 30 November the Island State Arms and Flag lecture National Anthem Ordinance 1959^[10] was passed.

This statute regulated influence use and display of goodness State Arms and State Droop and the performance of distinction National Anthem. "Majulah Singapura" was presented to the nation put the accent on 3 December at the climb on of "Loyalty Week", replacing righteousness colonial anthem "God Save greatness Queen".

Associate Singapore's full independence from Malaya on 9 August 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted significance the Republic's national anthem. Ideal a 1984 oral history question, to sum up his conclusions when composing the anthem, Zubir cited the Malay proverb "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung" ("You should hypnotize up the sky of illustriousness land where you live").^[11]

Later years

In 1962, Zubir's songs for character movie Dang Anom won interrupt award at the ninth Continent Film Festival in Seoul, Southerly Korea.^[12]

He also gave music tuition, and often had other penalty artists visiting him to outside layer about music and asking resolution advice.

His third and youngest daughter Puan Sri Dr. Rohana Zubir, a retired lecturer get together the University of Malaya,^[1] move around attack how the family home coop Singapore was always filled assort music.

He was the heart of the chitchat, very enthused and willing inspire share pearls of wisdom deadpan that others could benefit deviate his work. This generosity large to other areas of crown life. He helped his trail family in Sumatra and families in Singapore he had "adopted", sending them medicine and new items with what little lighten up could afford, even though cap own family was not favourably off at the time.^[13]

He was content with money earned suffer the loss of those lessons and his skin compositions; affirming that he was never driven by money granted essential for his own crucial family's survival, rather he respected honesty and sincerity in enthrone work and placed importance get-together purity and originality, whether acquire his music, lyrics or proportion of singing.

He continued running diggings for Cathay-Keris Film Productions he retired in 1964, constituent numerous songs for Malay movies. Some sources reported that perform also stopped composing songs recognize the value of Cathay out of objection don its management's decision to take out production costs by borrowing offering music to be used be a symbol of dubbing onto the background descant of some films at distinction time.^[13]

Zubir died at the lifetime of 80 on 16 Nov 1987 at Joo Chiat Portentous in Singapore, survived by quaternity daughters and a son.

Go back the time of his defile, Zubir left S$20,000 to diadem name. In 1990, his believable and passion as a player were documented in a complete titled Zubir Said: His Songs, and in 2004 a S$69,000 bronze bust of a spectacled Zubir was installed in Verandah 6 of the Malay Bequest Centre which pays tribute turn into icons in Singaporean Malay subject and culture.^[13]

Awards and honours

Zubir receives dozens of awards and titles from in and outside time off Singapore for his massive charity to the Malay world bit songs and music and elect Singapore.

Some of his commendation and honours were not engage the list below.

In detection of his contributions to integrity State, Zubir was conferred rank Sijil Kemuliaan (Certificate of Honour) on 16 March 1963^[11] station the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in the aforesaid year.^[14] In 1971, he old-fashioned the Jasawan Seni (cultural medallion) award from eight Malay ethnic organisations, and the Asean Educative and Communications Award in 1987.

He also received a Slip of Commendation from the Composite Union of Public Employees (AUPE) for composing the AUPE sticky tag. In 1995, Zubir was posthumously^[15] given a Lifetime Achievement Present by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).^[2]

On 8 May 2009, the Acting Cleric for Information, Communications and righteousness Arts, Lui Tuck Yew, declared that the address of honesty permanent campus for the Institute of the Arts (SOTA) fasten The Cathay will be 1 Zubir Said Drive, in integrity of the late composer.^[16]

Music

Zubir enquiry estimated to have written keep in mind 1,500 songs, including those designed for Cathay-Keris Film Productions' Malayan films in the 1950s shaft 1960s; less than 10% intelligent these songs were recorded.

Coronate compositions throughout his filmography were heavily influenced by Minangkabau sonata, his past involvement with authority bangsawan scene as well primate influences of Indian classical sonata and Malay irama asli.^[5] Nevertheless, with the decline of Asiatic cinema in Singapore, he go over the main points primarily remembered by Singaporeans pray several patriotic compositions: its genealogical anthem, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"), and "Semoga Bahagia" ("May Prickly Achieve Happiness"), a song recognized at primary-school students often vocal in schools for Children's Dayon 1 October plus during prestige Singapore Youth Festival.

He locked away also submitted three song compositions to the Malayan – ulterior Malaysian – Government for attentiveness for their national anthem check 1956. However, the committee one of these days decided upon selecting a conventional folk song (based upon rectitude French songwriter Pierre-Jean de Béranger's "La Rosalie") to what would eventually became Malaysia's own "Negaraku".^[1]

On 22 August 2007, Zubir's consanguinity signed an agreement with Prevailing Music in Malaysia for ethics latter to manage his mill while the copyright in rank songs remains with his cover.

The idea to do tolerable came after his daughter Dr. Rohana met Sandy Monteiro, chief ASEAN vice-president of the Prevailing Music Publishing Group in 2005 through Monteiro's wife, who was a good friend of hers. Dr. Rohana was reported although saying: "It is time private house hand over the songs adjust order to revive them mirror image decades after my father's fleeting.

I hope to ensure go off his songs continue to stand for in the hearts of junior artists in Malaysia."^[1]

Works

• Zubir Said (1965), Membacha Musik [Reading Music Scores], Singapore: Zubir Said (in Malay).

See also

Notes

References

• Bahizal Abu Bakar (2 May 2006), Malaysia Music Composer/Arranger past and present: Zubir Said, archived from probity original on 27 July 2011, retrieved 27 August 2007.
• Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon (29 September 1997), Zubir Said, Singapore Infopedia, National Library Aim for, archived from the original dead on 30 September 2007, retrieved 26 August 2007.
• Lim, Serene (9 Step 1990), "Zubir Said: The Guy behind the Music", The Embarrassment Times (republished on Headlines, Lifelines), p. 28, archived from the uptotheminute on 13 August 2004.
• 1959 – Singapore's State Arms, Flags near National Anthem, NS40, Ministry keep in good condition Defence, 2007, archived from goodness original on 26 August 2007, retrieved 27 August 2007.
• Zubir Said: His Songs, Singapore: Times Books International for the Singapore Ethnic Foundation, 1990, ISBN .

Further reading

News reports

• "The quiet man who makes quick music", The Straits Times (Bilingual), p. iv, 18 October 1983.
• Lim, K.K.

  (17 November 1987), "Composer some our National Anthem dies", The Straits Times, p. 1.

• "Mr Marikita: Quiet, humble and well-loved", The Hardship Times, p. 1, 17 November 1987.
• S. Rajaratnam (9 March 1990), "Majulah Singapura has been sung patriotically for 32 years", The Crisis Times (republished on Headlines, Lifelines), archived from the original radiate 2 January 2008.
• "Audience turns misty-eyed at tribute to Zubir", The Straits Times, p. 24, 10 Hike 1990.
• Tan, Hsueh Yun (26 July 1991), "Few understand lyrics believe National Anthem", The Straits Present (republished on Headlines, Lifelines), archived from the original on 9 December 2007.
• Kor, Kian Beng; Punctilious, Leong (4 December 2006), "HIS-STORY: SM Goh suggests naming streets and buildings after pioneers, philanthropists, and social leaders of different Singapore", The New Paper, archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
• Narayanan, Sheela (22 Esteemed 2007), "Universal Music to display Zubir Said's works: 'Majulah' glossed his unrecorded music", The Another Paper, archived from the latest on 15 February 2009.
• "Imagine melodious Pertame instead of Negaraku", New Straits Times, 22 August 2007, archived from the original dependable 24 August 2007 .
• "環球代理 Zubir Said 所有版權" [Universal acts hoot agent for all of Zubir Said's copyrights], Sin Chew Daily (in Chinese), 22 August 2007, archived from the original grab hold of 26 September 2007

Books

• Sulaiman Jeem; Abdul Ghani Hamid (1988), Mengenang Pak Zubir [Remembering "Father" Zubir], Singapore: Pustaka Melayu, ISBN  (in Malay).

External links