Soepra gamelan has a Western sound

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

My Way, which is usually associated with singer Frank Sinatra, sounded quite different when Indonesian tenor Christopher Abimanyu, also known as Abbi, sang it at Istana Muara, Bandung.

Abbi's voice sounded more harmonious than when he appeared along with the Twilite Orchestra, also in Bandung, in July last year.

That evening was marked by the blend of the sound emanating from traditional gamelan, saron and gambang gongs and that coming from electric guitars, bass, organ and drums. This combination of traditional and modern musical instruments accompanied Christopher's voice.

Hundreds of people packed the auditorium that night, mostly first-timers, who were mesmerized and applauded loudly. Some even shouted and whistled in excitement.

More than 60 senior high school students of SMA Kolese Loyola Semarang came to Bandung for the first time to take part in this charity performance. They raised funds for the SOS Kinderdorf orphanage.

The students brought with them their Soepra gamelan, which, for the last forty years, at least, has been associated with Loyola when the school puts on a cultural performance.

Besides Abbi, the performance, titled 2005 Soepra Gamelan Charity Concert and organized by Ananda Budhisuharto, a 1985 graduate of Loyola, was also highlighted by the presence of Addie MS, the conductor of the Twilite Orchestra, and his wife, singer Memes, as well as guitarist Jubing Kristanto.

Soepra gamelan may be known only to the Loyola community and some Semarang residents that have been to Loyola's annual cultural night.

Unique gamelan

This gamelan is unique in that it is the world's only chromatic gamelan. It contains all the notes in a modern music scale from "do to ti," said Jubing, also a 1985 Loyola graduate.

Now a noted guitarist, Jubing played solo several songs like Desaku Ayam Den Lapeh, the Mission Impossible theme tune and Becak Fantasi in response to audience requests.

He said that although he had never taken part in Soepra gamelan music activities while studying at Loyola, nevertheless, he agreed that it was a fond memory for all Loyola graduates. He recounted the sound of the gamelan when students played it at rehearsals on hot Semarang afternoons.

Soepra gamelan is different from the average traditional Javanese gamelan because it contains diatonic notes.

Generally, a traditional Javanese gamelan can accommodate only pelog and salendro notes (on a pentatonic scale); it is therefore difficult to accompany pop songs.

Another advantage is that Soepra gamelan can be played alongside modern musical instruments like the guitar, drums, bass and organ. That is why students playing this type of gamelan will never think that their music is outdated.

"The music is unique as we can play any genre of music with this gamelan," said Frances, a third-grader of SMA Loyola. That evening she was the conductor for her school's Soepra gamelan music troupe, who were all wearing black-and-red costumes.

During this charity performance, the gamelan group plus the Loyola choir presented at least 11 different songs such as Manuk Dadali from West Java, Gambang Semarang and Loyola College March.

The gamelan players also enjoyed accompanying Memes, who sang Bengawan Solo, and then Memes and Abbi, who sang Selalu Di Sampingmu (Always Beside You) together.

Different to 'campur sari'

The blend of Soepra gamelan and modern musical instruments may sound like the campur sari musical genre, which also combines gamelan and modern musical instruments.

Sukisno, 41, a Soepra gamelan instructor and the musical arranger for Loyola's Soepra gamelan troupe, said, however, Soepra and campur sari were "two different things".

A complete set of Soepra gamelan instruments saron, gender, gambang, bonang, gongs and kendang -- have been adjusted to play diatonic notes. In campur sari, the gamelan remains in its pelog and salendro pentatonic notes.

Another difference, he said, was that Soepra gamelan is played by a large number of gamelan players, about 60, for example, while the gamelan for campur sari is played by a much smaller ensemble.

Soepra gamelan also uses several other instruments that are not usually found in a traditional Javanese gamelan set, said Sukisno. One of these instruments is a kemondong gong, which is normally used with the traditional Javanese gamelan only to accompany coke'an, a genre of traditional Javanese music.

"This gong usually serves as a bass instrument," he added. Another additional instrument is bonang peking, which Sukisno himself has created. This instrument is used when there is no high note that can be played in a particular octave.

The Soepra gamelan used in the charity performance in Bandung, Sukisno noted, was already five years old and had not been retuned. The quality of the gamelan depends particularly on the alloy of tin and copper used. Every year, the instructors must check the sound of all the gamelan instruments.

Soepra and Sukarno

The name "Soepra" was given by Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, on July 22, 1965, after he listened to a performance of the gamelan, which Father Henri Constant van Deinse, SJ, modified from a traditional Javanese gamelan, and was played in connection with the congress of Catholics from all over Indonesia in Senayan, Jakarta.

Soekarno took the name from that of the first Indonesian Catholic bishop, Mgr A. Soegijopranoto.

Father Deinse was Dutch and assigned in Loyola between 1955 and 1973. When Soekarno offered to give him a reward for modifying a traditional Javanese gamelan into the Soepra gamelan, the priest only asked to be naturalized as an Indonesian citizen.

While assigned at Loyola, Deinse required all Loyola students to play Soepra gamelan as one of their extracurricular activities. Today, Sukisno said, only about 60 students were interested because playing Soepra gamelan was no longer a compulsory subject.

Still, the students were enthusiastic in their rehearsals, he added.

Addi MS, who was the sound and technical advisor for the performance in Bandung, supported efforts to popularize traditional and modern music in schools. "Twilite has entered schools to enhance students' musical appreciation. In Loyola, this has been an established practice. I would feel guilty if I did not support the initiative," he said.