Zubir Said

Infobox musical artist
Name = Zubir Said

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Img_size = 105
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Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Zubir Said
Alias =
Born = 22 July 1907
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Died = Death date and age|df=yes|1987|11|16|1907|7|22
Singapore
Genre = Film scores and songs
Occupation = Composer
Years_active = 1928–1987
Label = Universal Music Group
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Zubir Said (also Zubir Syed) (22 July 1907 – 16 November 1987) was a Singaporean composer originally from the Minangkabau highlands of Indonesia who composed the national anthem of Singapore, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"). A self-taught musician, Zubir also worked as a score arranger and songwriter for Cathay-Keris Film Productions for 12 years, composing numerous songs for the company's Malay films. He is believed to have written about 1,500 songs, with less than 10% of them ever recorded.cite news|title=Universal Music to handle Zubir Said's songs|publisher="The Straits Times" ("Life!")|date=24 August 2007|page=24
See also cite news|last=Loh|first=Noelle|title=Tuning in anew to Zubir Said: He might be known for Majulah Singapura, but the late composer's other works are set for a new lease of life|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_164642.html|publisher="The Straits Times"|date=2007-10-07]

It has been said that Zubir was viewed by many as a composer with a "true Malay soul", as his songs were interwoven with historical messages and Malay truisms, and that he and his Minangkabau contemporaries awoke a wave of national consciousness in the 1950s.

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Early years

The eldest child in a family of three boys and five girls, Zubir Said was born on 22 July 1907 in Bukittinggi in the Minangkabau highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia.cite web|last=Cornelius-Takahama|first=Vernon|title=Zubir Said|url=http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_115_2005-01-19.html|publisher=Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board|date=1997-09-29|accessdate=2007-08-26] His mother died when he was seven years old. He attended a Dutch school but had no interest in academic studies. His involvement with music started when he was introduced to the Solfa music system by a teacher. A primary-school classmate subsequently taught him how to make and play a flute, and in middle school, he learned to play the guitar and drums from fellow students and the "keroncong" group he was involved in.cite web|author=Bahizal Abu Bakar|title=Malaysia Music Composer/Arranger past and present: Zubir Said|url=http://bahizal.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_bahizal_archive.html|date=2006-05-02|accessdate=2007-08-27]

Move to Singapore

In 1928 at the age of 21, Zubir went to Singapore to make a living as a musician, taking up the suggestion of a sailor friend who had described the island as a place of "glittering lights, "kopi susu" [coffee with milk] and butter". This was done in the face of objections from his village chieftain father, Mohamad Said bin Sanang, who believed music to be against religion. Zubir's first job was as a musician with City Opera, a "bangsawan" or Malay opera troupe. He became the troupe's bandleader. Thereafter, in 1936, he joined the recording company His Master's Voice. Zubir went to Java to marry Tarminah Kario Wikromo, a "keroncong" singer, in 1938; they returned to Zubir's home town of Bukittinggi in 1941 just before the outbreak of World War II. Coming back to Singapore in 1947, Zubir worked as a part-time photographer with the "Utusan Melayu" newspaper [According to Zubir Said's third daughter Dr. Rohana Zubir, her father also travelled from village to village taking NRIC-sized photographs for the villagers: see cite news|last=Lim|first=Serene|title=Zubir Said: The man behind the music|url=http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/zubir1.html|publisher="The Straits Times" (republished on Headlines, Lifelines)|date=1990-03-09|page=28] while composing and performing music and songs. In 1949 he took up the post of orchestra conductor at Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production, and in 1952 he joined Cathay-Keris Film Productions as a score arranger and songwriter for the company's Malay films, including "Sumpah Pontianak" ("Blood of Pontianak", 1958) and "Chuchu Datuk Merah" ("Grandchildren of Datuk Merah", 1963). [imdb name|1008031|Zubir Said. Retrieved on 2 November 2007.] In 1957, he received his first public recognition when his songs were performed at the Victoria Theatre.cite news|last=Lim|first=Serene|title=Zubir Said: The man behind the music|url=http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/zubir1.html|publisher="The Straits Times" (republished on Headlines, Lifelines)|date=1990-03-09|page=28]

"Majulah Singapura"

Singapore, then a British colony, had been conferred city status by a royal charter from King George VI in 1951. In 1958, the City Council of Singapore approached Zubir to compose a song for the city to be titled "Majulah Singapura", which was a motto to be displayed in the Victoria Theatre after its renovation. [cite web|title=National anthem – Majulah Singapura|url=http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/etc/07_anthem.htm|publisher=Access to Archives Online (a2o), National Archives of Singapore|accessdate=2007-12-30] Zubir's song, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"), was first performed by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble during the grand finale of a concert staged in the Victoria Theatre on 6 September 1958 to celebrate its official reopening. When Singapore attained self-government in 1959, the Government felt that a national anthem was needed to unite the different races in Singapore. It decided that the City Council's song, which was already popular, would serve this purpose. After some revisions were made to the song, it was adopted by the Legislative Assembly on 11 November 1959, and on 30 November the Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959 [Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959 (No. 70 of 1959), now the Singapore Statute|title=Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act|c
ed=1985.] was passed. This statute regulated the use and display of the State Arms and State Flag and the performance of the National Anthem. "Majulah Singapura" was presented to the nation on 3 December at the launch of "Loyalty Week", replacing the colonial anthem "God Save the Queen". After Singapore's full independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted as the Republic's national anthem. In a 1984 oral history interview, to sum up his philosophy when composing the anthem, Zubir cited the Malay proverb "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung" ("You should hold up the sky of the land where you live").cite web|title=1959 – Singapore's State Arms, Flags and National Anthem|url=http://40years.ns.sg/portal/ns/mindef_saf_history_1950s/1959_singapore_s_state_arms_flags_and_national_anthem/|publisher=NS40, Ministry of Defence|date=2007|accessdate=2007-08-27]

Later years

In 1962, Zubir's songs for the movie "Dang Anom" won an award at the Ninth Asian Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea. [cite web|title=Zubir Said|url=http://www.worldbook.com/wb/article?id=ar748450|publisher=World Book Encyclopedia|accessdate=2007-08-26] He continued working for Cathay-Keris Film Productions until he retired in 1964, composing numerous songs for Malay films.

He also gave music lessons, and often had other music artists visiting him to talk about music and asking for advice. His third and youngest daughter Puan Sri Dr. Rohana Zubir, a retired lecturer with the University of Malaya, recalled how the family home in Singapore was always filled with music. He was the heart of the conversation, very enthused and willing to share pearls of wisdom so that others could benefit from his work. This generosity extended to other areas of his life. He helped his own family in Sumatra and families in Singapore he had "adopted", sending them medicine and other items with what little he could afford, even though his own family was not well off at the time.cite news|last=Loh|first=Noelle|title=Tuning in anew to Zubir Said|publisher="The Straits Times"|date=2007-10-07]

Zubir said he was never driven by money. He believed that money was essential for his survival and to look after the family, and that the money he earned from giving music lessons and his compositions for the film world sufficed. He valued honesty and sincerity in his work and placed importance on purity and originality, whether in his music, lyrics or style of singing. He stopped composing songs for the film company when he was upset about the management's decision to cut production costs by borrowing existing music to be used for dubbing on to the background music of some films.

Zubir died at the age of 80 on 16 November 1987 at Joo Chiat Place in Singapore, survived by four daughters and a son. Despite his legacy, Zubir left only S$20,000 to his name and the family had no home to call its own. In 1990 Zubir's life and passion as a musician were documented in a book titled "Zubir Said: His Songs", and in 2004 a S$20,000 bronze bust of a bespectacled Zubir was installed in Gallery 6 of the Malay Heritage Centre which pays tribute to icons in Malay arts and culture.

[
Sijil Kemuliaan" (Certificate of Honour) from the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) of Singapore, Yusof bin Ishak, in 1963.]

Awards

In recognition of his contributions to the State, Zubir was conferred the "Sijil Kemuliaan" (Certificate of Honour) on 16 March 1963 and the "Bintang Bakti Masyarakat" (Public Service Star) in the same year. [According to Singapore Infopedia, Zubir Said received the Public Service Star in 1962: see cite web|last=Cornelius-Takahama|first=Vernon|title=Zubir Said|url=http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_115_2005-01-19.html|publisher=Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board|date=1997-09-29|accessdate=2007-08-26 This, however, cannot be right as that award was only instituted in 1963.] In 1971, he received the "Jasawan Seni" (cultural medallion) award from eight Malay cultural organizations, and the Asean Cultural and Communications Award in 1987. He also received a Certificate of Commendation from the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE) for composing the AUPE song. In 1995, Zubir was posthumously [cite news|title=Posthumous award for anthem composer|publisher="The Straits Times" ("News Focus")|date=1995-04-17|page=2] given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).

Music

Zubir is primarily remembered for composing Singapore's national anthem, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"). The Malay lyrics exhort Singaporeans to "progress towards happiness together" ("Sama-sama menuju bahagia") so that their "noble aspiration [s] bring Singapore success" ("Cita-cita kita yang mulia / Berjaya Singapura"), and to "unite in a new spirit" ("Marilah kita bersatu / Dengan semangat yang baru").

In 1956, he also submitted three song compositions to the Malayan – later Malaysian – Government for consideration for their national anthem. However, a different song, "Negaraku", was selected in the end.

Zubir is also remembered for his composition "Semoga Bahagia" ("May You Achieve Happiness") which was aimed at primary-school students, advising them to work hard for their future. It has become a Children's Day song for Singaporean children, and is thus often sung in schools on 1 October. It is also performed during the Singapore Youth Festival.

Zubir is estimated to have written about 1,500 songs, including those written for Cathay-Keris Film Productions' Malay films in the 1950s and 1960s. Less than 10% of these songs were recorded. On 22 August 2007, Zubir's family signed an agreement with Universal Music in Malaysia for the latter to manage his works. The copyright in the songs remains with his family. The idea to do so came after his daughter Dr. Rohana met Sandy Monteiro, senior vice-president (Asean) of the Universal Music Publishing Group in 2005 through Monteiro's wife, who was a good friend of hers. Dr. Rohana was reported as saying: "It is time to hand over the songs in order to revive them two decades after my father's passing. I hope to ensure that his songs continue to live in the hearts of young artists in Malaysia."

It is said that Zubir was viewed by many as a composer with a "true Malay soul", as his songs, traditional but yet modern and patriotic, were interwoven with historical messages and Malay truisms. Journalist A. Samad Ismail commented that Zubir and his Minangkabau contemporaries awoke a wave of national consciousness in the 1950s.

Works

ee also

*List of Singaporean patriotic songs

Notes

References

Further reading

Articles

Books

External links

*imdb name|1008031|Zubir Said
*cite web|title=National symbols: The National Anthem|url=http://www.nhb.gov.sg/PE/resources/national_symbols/national_anthem.html|publisher=National Heritage Board|accessdate=2007-08-25
* [http://www.felix-entertainment.com/p-ramlee/gallery/zubirs.htm Photograph of Zubir Said at Felix Entertainment]
* [http://www.singaporeheritage.com/pesh_entries_details.asp?id=62&rcid=4&ccid=30&cc2id=0 Photograph of Zubir Said at the Peoples' Encyclopedia of Singapore History, Singapore Heritage Society]

Persondata
NAME = Zubir Said
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Zubir Syed
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Singaporean composer
DATE OF BIRTH = 22 July 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH = Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia
DATE OF DEATH = 16 November 1987
PLACE OF DEATH = Singapore

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