复中兴 ( 其一 ) / (其二) Fu Zhong Xing Part 1 / Part 2
Performer(s): Thau Yong Musical Association
Columbia GHC-647
1947

An examination of newspaper archives from the era reveals the prevalence of Chinese opera—sometimes referred to as “wayang” in English-language papers—in Singaporeans’ lives. There is no shortage of reportage on noise complaints, crimes committed by or against wayang troupe members, industry drama, as well as promotional material for performances at amusement parks and fundraisers.

However, like all art forms, wayang had its detractors. Street wayang had the reputation of pandering to the illiterate masses for profit; one Chinese playwright remarked, “[Singaporean audiences] look first to see whether the actresses are attractive, secondly whether the costumes are beautiful, and thirdly whether the story has any fighting in it. The question of the standard of acting, if it enters their mind at all, comes last.” In addition, many troupes were composed of family relatives, including children who were coerced into the entertainment industry from a very young age; the Labour Department began investigating and regulating poor working conditions of child actors in the 1950s.

These factors led to the establishment of non-professional “ruyue” (儒乐; scholar’s music) societies in the Teochew music community, which committed to practicing the waijiang (外江; known in Teochew as goa-kang) opera form for the “noble reasons” of private enjoyment and entertainment. This 1947 release contains two recordings by the Thau Yong Musical Association (陶融儒乐社 ), a ruyue society formed in 1931. The recordings are of an opera named Fu Zhong Xing, which adapts the story of Liu Xiu's restoration of the Han Dynasty. Read the script for this opera here, or listen to oral history interviews with members of the association, Phan Wait Hong and Yeo How Jiang.

Rachun Dunia / Sayang Di Sayang
Performer(s): Rubiah
His Master’s Voice NAM-16
1951

By the 1930s, bangsawan had lost its spot as the most popular entertainment option in Singapore; even after the War, it never regained the appeal seen during the golden age of the 1910s to 1930s; a 1947 Malaya Tribune article described the form as a “relic of past days”.

This spot had gone to the “talkies”, following the introduction of sound film in 1929. While many older performers retired, some of the younger ones found opportunities in the nascent Malayan film industry. S. Kadarisman, whose family had been in the esteemed Union Star Opera for generations, jumped ship after his father’s retirement from bangsawan in 1937, landing a job at Malay Film Productions (MFP).

A similar path was followed by none other than Zubir Said, better known today as the composer of “Majulah Singapura”. Upon arriving in Singapore in 1928, he found work as a musician in the City Opera bangsawan troupe. This was followed by a stint as a recording supervisor for The Gramophone Company until the 1940s, then as a composer for MFP and Cathay-Keris during Malay cinema’s heyday.

This record was released by His Master’s Voice in 1951, and features two songs from the MFP production Rachun Dunia (B.S. Rajhans), which premiered on 11 February 1950. The songs are composed by Zubir Said and performed by Rubiah and the Samudra Orchestra. The film was so successful that the Colonial Office dispatched a one-reel excerpt, intended for screening at the British Film Institute’s Festival of Commonwealth Films.

Dewi Murni / Jodoh
Performer(s): Rubiah, Mohd Yatim
His Master’s Voice NAM-25
1951

Although the skills possessed by bangsawan performers were valued in the film industry, some adjustments were required. One example was the use of recorded music during shooting, which was the practice at MFP, but not at Cathay-Keris. In his oral history interview, Zubir Said explains how the process began with reviewing film reels and noting down segments that needed music; subsequently, he would watch the film in entirety and play along on the piano. He credits his experience in the bangsawan with helping him improvise background music.

The final arrangement would be recorded in a studio—originally, a screen was placed behind the composer, and the film was projected on it, with the musicians facing the screen. However, Said explains, the musicians frequently got too engrossed in the film, and forgot to play the music. To combat this issue, the screen was moved behind the musicians.

This record was released by His Master’s Voice in 1951, and features two songs from the MFP production Dewi Murni (B.S. Rajhans). The film was released for that year’s Hari Raya Puasa, and contains 12 songs composed by Zubir Said. It also features a performance by another graduate of the bangsawan scene, A. R. Tompel. Tompel started his career in 1938 as a tap dancer for the Kris Opera troupe, but went into movies after the War.

Oh Bulan / Tangkap Ikan
Performer(s): P. Ramlee
Pathe PTH-14
1951

As a young boy growing up in Punjab, India, B.S. Rajhans had dreams of entering the theatre business. Chasing these dreams led him first to Mumbai—where he apprenticed under the father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke—and later, to Malaya, which he described as “a fertile field where men and woman with personality can exhibit their skill and talent”.

Rajhans is best known for his work between the 1940s and 1950s, directing films for the newly established MFP. This Pathe record contains two songs from the wildly popular fantasy film, Nasib (1949; B.S. Rajhans).

During this period, the film and recording industries were deeply intertwined. Many Malay films featured musical numbers—Nasib had a total of nine songs—and the release of these songs as gramophone records was credited with “boosting the stock of local Malay film personalities”.

“ALL THESE SONG HITS FROM RECENT MALAY FILMS (Malay Film Productions) CAN BE HEARD ON RECORDS”, proclaimed a T. Hemsley advertisement from 1950. This marked a huge change of pace from the early years of the recording industry; as Zubir Said recalled, those were the days when “Malay singers were scared to death to make recordings [because] they feared they might lose their voice altogether if they “transferred their voice to the talking discs””.

Hidup Melarat / Hidup Berdua
Performer(s): P. Ramlee
Pathe PTH-22
1951

After the Second World War, Singapore was well placed to become a major player in the Malay film industry. Not only did it have a geographical advantage—being in close proximity to peninsular Malaya, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo—it also had a wealth of directing and acting talent, in part due to the region’s rich theatrical tradition.

By 1951, MFP boasted more than a hundred actors and actresses on its payroll. The studio’s profile was boosted by seasoned stars like Bachtiar Effendi, a top actor in the Malay dramatic scene who rose to fame in the Dardanella and Bollero bangsawan troupes. Effendi’s contributions to MFP include writing, acting, and directing credits. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, MFP also sought to infuse its ranks with new blood, voraciously recruiting talent such as Siput Sarawak, Neng Yatimah, and most notably, P. Ramlee.

This Pathe record contains two screen songs from the 1950 film Bakti (L. Krishnan), performed by P. Ramlee. A Straits Times review from the same year declared Bakti the “best Malay film yet”, praising its “lilting songs” and “haunting melodies”, along with its inclusion of English subtitles which expanded the film’s potential audience.

Do'a-Kan Jaya / Chum Chum
Performer(s): Miss Lena
Columbia GEM-130
1953

Another musical luminary in the film industry was Osman Ahmad, who composed the screen songs from Nasib and Bakti, showcased in previous weeks of this programme. Right after the War, Osman Ahmad could be heard on Singapore’s airwaves, conducting the Columbia H.M.V Orchestra for the Blue Network. Soon after, he became a frequent musical contributor to MFP pictures, even giving Momo Latiff her first big break by recommending her to P. Ramlee first as a playback singer (i.e. a singer whose voice was “used” by other actors), and then as an actress in Pendekar Bujang Lapok (1959). Later on, he also served on the committee of the Musician’s Union of Singapore.

This shellac disc features two recordings composed by Osman Ahmad, for the 1953 MFP films Hati Iblis and Ayer Mata, both directed by K. Bhaskar.

Janji-Mu/Ta' Terlerai
Performer(s): Adek Hasnah
Columbia GEM-113
1953

Although MFP is possibly the studio most closely associated with the Golden Age of Malay cinema, it certainly did not have a monopoly on the film industry at the time. Two notable competitors were Cathay-Keris—which we now know became a formidable opponent to MFP—as well as the Nusantara Film Company.

Nusantara was established circa 1950-1951 by Hsu Chiao Meng, a Zhenjiang-born who arrived on Singapore’s shores in 1940 as a photojournalist for the touring New China Drama Troupe. As Singapore’s film industry picked up in the late 1940s, Hsu opened Nusantara at the South Winds Hotel in Tanjung Bulai. The studio was noted for being the first to use Malay directors such as A.R. Tompel and Naz Achnas, in contrast to MFP which had started out with directors from India and the Philippines.^[1]

This Columbia release features two recordings, including a screen song from the film Ta’ Terlerai, later released under the name “Chinta Murai”. The film was directed by A. R. Tompel and released by the Nusantara Film Company. This song in particular is sung by Adek Hasnah, a popular folk singer. Listen to S. Kadarisman’s account of playing the villain in Chinta Murai here.

Although Nusantara folded in 1954, Hsu’s career did not end there. Through the ‘50s and ‘60s, he would become a key player in Singapore’s Chinese-language film industry—the topic for the last few weeks of this theme.

凤求鸾 ( 其一 / 其二) Feng Qiu Luan (Part 1 / Part 2)
Performers: Lao Sai Thor Guan
Columbia GHC-712
1951

In Singapore, the phrase “Chinese opera” refers to a broad variety of musical theatre forms that are distinguished by narrative, language, and instrumentation, among other facets. These forms are of diverse origin, including folk festivals for Chinese deities, as well as entertainment for the imperial court.

After the war, Chinese opera experienced a resurgence, and enjoyed audiences of up to thousands at temples, specialised theatres, and roadside pop-ups (for seasonal and special celebrations). This resurgence is evidenced by the existence of numerous catalogue series dedicated to Chinese opera, such as Columbia’s GHC series, which released hundreds of Chinese opera records between the late 1940s and 1953 alone. This 1951 shellac disc from the GHC series features two recordings by Lau Sai Thor Guan (老赛桃源), a Teochew opera troupe formed in 1864 and still performing to this day.

Lau Sai Thor Guan’s discs were heavily promoted in Chinese-language newspapers like Sin Chew Jit Poh in 1952. The series contained performances of stories from Chinese classics—this specific disc features a story from Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦).

Listen to accounts of life in this troupe from former members Goh Swee Heng, Tan Siew Sua, and Huang Yu Zhu.