'Gambang Semarang' looks to younger generations to play traditional music

Suherdjoko,The Jakarta Post/Semarang

It is a Wednesday afternoon at Graha Santika hotel here in Semarang.

A group of a dozen elderly men mostly over 60 years of age are seen keenly playing a set of traditional music instruments resembling that of the Javanese gamelan.

Their wrinkled, aged hands do not seem to prevent them from producing music that sounds gentle on the ears.

They are playing Gambang Semarang music, which at a glance sounds very similar to that of the Gambang Kromong music of Betawi (Jakarta).

The songs played such as Kicir-kicir, Gado-gado Semarang, Malu Kucing, Tukang Becak Bang Samiun, Impian Semalam, Jali-jali, Lenggang Kangkung, Si Gadis Manis, and Ondel-ondel are also the same as those played in Gambang Kromong music.

"Gambang Semarang was indeed brought here from Jakarta in 1932 by Lie Hoo Soen, a bodyguard of Oey Thiong Ham, a very rich businessman, the owner of one of the largest Southeast Asian cane sugar businesses at that time, who lived in Semarang," group leader Dimyanto Jayadi, 63, said about the music that his group was playing.

It is, therefore, not surprising if both kinds of music sound very similar to each other, as Gambang Semarang is in fact developed from Gambang Kromong.

Only in the coastal region of Semarang has this particular type of music been combined with local Javanese coastal culture, so that it eventually became Gambang Semarang in 1939.

The Gambang Semarang instrument set at Graha Santika was bought from late historian Amen Budiman of Semarang in 1990. It formerly belonged to the gambang Semarang Kembang Goyang group, whose name was still clearly attached at the gambang box.

Gambang Semarang music, according to Jayadi, had its golden era during the 1940s with famous gambang singers and dancers such as Mpok Nani, Mpok Royom, and Mpok Ira (or Oei Tjing Moy) of Ciputat as the most popular at that time. Night markets were where Gambang Semarang was performed the most.

Then, in 1945 came the arrival of Japanese troops, which attacked them while playing at a night market, leaving them with nothing.

All the instruments disappeared and so did Mpok Royom and Mpok Nani, who were Jayadi's aunties.

It was only in 1954 that a Gambang Semarang group was reestablished with Oei Tjik Boen as the leader of this second generation of Gambang Semarang.

At that particular time, in a bid to make the music more attractive to a younger audience, the group also played popular songs of the era.

Yet, again, the group did not exist for a long time. It broke up in 1960 and was only reestablished some 10 years later, in 1970, by Sunoto by bringing together anyone willing to join the group, regardless of their experience and ability.

As a result, the group could not survive. In 1980, it was no longer seen as having routine rehearsals.

Concerned about the situation, Jayadi in 1986 started to try to reestablish the group by establishing a Kroncong music group and eventually turned it into a Gambang Semarang group, as there were not many Gambang Semarang players around at the time.

"It was not an easy task. I was forced to do it that way because we did not even have proper Gambang Semarang instruments, including Shie Kong, Khong Ah Jian, Jhana, Theh Yan (stringed instruments that resemble a violin), and Dhong Kho (Chinese traditional drum)," Jayadi said.

Like Gambang Kromong, Gambang Semarang is also rich with the nuance of Chinese traditional music. So, there is Jayadi and his group, which comprises mostly former Kroncong musicians, trying to maintain the almost-defunct traditional music, while at the same time looking for a younger generation to play it.

To make it richer and more acceptable to contemporary audiences, Javadi has also written new songs about the local culture or community.

Semarang Tempo Doeloe is one of 18 songs that he has created so far about Semarang.

At present, every Wednesday afternoon they rehearse at Graha Santika Gambang Semarang Room in the hotel basement. They are paid Rp 100,000 for every rehearsal -- not that much, but the group sees it as a motivator to keep traditional music alive.

"Sometimes, people invite us to play at a special event. For this we are usually paid some Rp 1.5 million per performance," said Jayadi, whose group consists of some 14 members.

Yet, according to Jayadi, he finds it is difficult for his group to compete with the new phenomenon of the emergence of many single keyboard players in the region who charge Rp 1 million to perform.

People, he says, mostly prefer to hire them because beside being cheaper, they also consist of only a keyboard player and one or two singers.

"So, they do not have to feed too many people as if they hire a group like us consisting of 14 people," Jayadi said.

Recently, in a bid to preserve traditional music, the Semarang Municipal Tourism Office also held a Gambang Semarang music festival. Six groups, including Jayadi's, participated.

Yet, many considered that the unique character of original Gambang Semarang music was not heard properly at the festival.

Most of the participating groups, for example, replaced the gambang instruments with those of the kolintang.

Consequently, traditional Gambang Semarang music, which is originally pentatonic, became diatonic.

"But, at least, we have done something to preserve the tradition.

Even though it may be different from the original, it is being maintained," said Hermani Sektiwati of the Semarang Municipal Tourism Office.