Selected works
Music for voices, from Malay dance rhythms to a Batak love song. Hear two contrasting interpretations by the Batavia Madrigal Singers.
Original compositionHentakan Jiwa
The Beat of the Soul
In this work for divided mixed voices, the text names steps and gestures from Malay dance. Listen for the way a sharply articulated syllable can suggest a foot hitting the ground. The Batavia Madrigal Singers’ recording lets you hear that rhythmic detail across the ensemble.
Watch the Batavia Madrigal Singers ↗Original compositionFajar dan Senja
Dawn and Dusk
Ken sets two moments of change alongside one another, the approach of daylight and its retreat at evening. Melayu musical material connects the two scenes. A version for SSAA places the whole landscape in the upper voices of a choir.
Folk-song arrangementBenggong
The Final Departure
This song from Manggarai in Flores carries memories of people taken into slavery during Portuguese rule. The farewell in the title gives the arrangement its emotional weight. Listen to the Batavia Madrigal Singers sing it, then compare their articulation with the same ensemble’s Hentakan Jiwa.
Watch the Batavia Madrigal Singers ↗Folk-song arrangementAlusi Au
Answer Me
A speaker longs for an answer from someone dear. Ken’s mixed-choir setting keeps the Batak words of this North Sumatran song, including the two-word appeal that gives it its title.
Folk-song arrangementHela Rotan
Maluku
A work song from the Moluccas belongs to the rhythm of people pulling together. In the treble-choir edition, that shared physical effort has a counterpart in singers breathing, entering, and shaping a phrase together.
Folk-song arrangementJuru Pencar
The Fish Gatherers
Children sing this Balinese song about gathering fish together. The SA arrangement uses two upper voice parts, making room in Ken’s repertoire for younger singers working in their own section or school choir.
Original compositionPetak Umpet
Hide and Seek
The familiar rules of hide-and-seek give this two-part piece its subject. It offers a different introduction to Ken’s writing, through childhood play and anticipation rather than a concert work for a large divided chorus.