Timbral Labor: Voices of Women in Langgam Jawa

Hannah Standiford (University of Pittsburgh)

Most people can recognize a genre within the first few seconds, even the first fraction of a second, when they hear a song (Gjerdingen 2008). Since this is usually not enough time to hear a chord progression or even a melody, we make these discernments based on the instrumentation, production style, and, perhaps most importantly, timbre. Nina Eidsheim (2015) argues that vocalists are tasked with the labor of making a piece discernible within the confines of a particular genre, usually by producing what is perceived as the appropriate timbre for the repertoire. Eidsheim asks, “how is vocal labor recruited to maintain a piece’s identity and status?” (2015, 134).[1] She describes how Luciano Pavarotti’s version of “My Way” may not retain its status as torch song[2] in the same way as when Frank Sinatra sings it based on the timbre used in these respective performances. In this way, the recognizability of a given genre depends largely on timbre, which in turn depends on the labor of the singer. 

I find this to be true in my work with women singers in Central Java who are front and center in the production and spread of a repertoire known as langgam Jawa (“Javanese-style”). Singers of langgam Jawa often code switch between genres, in this case gamelan[3] and kroncong,[4] in which this repertoire is performed. Through code switching, these women singers enact timbral labor to maintain the complex identities associated with these two genres: the regional, Javanese identity of gamelan and national, Indonesian identity associated with kroncong. The production of this timbre and switching between the vocal timbres associated with gamelan and kroncong singing respectively, falls predominantly on the shoulders of women.  In other words, the constant vocal labor needed to distinguish genres and negotiate between Javanese identity and Indonesian identity is gendered and women are central to this labor. 

Langgam Jawa songs use approximations of tuning systems known as pelog and slendro from gamelan, a traditional royal court music of Indonesia, and are sung in the Javanese language. Gamelan has an extensive and rich repertoire, often featuring female singers known as pesindhen who use a florid vocal style with highly detailed ornamentation (Sutton 1987, 120). In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it is believed that pesindhen blended with the other instruments of the gamelan, becoming one sound out of many in the texture as opposed to being featured or highlighted within the ensemble. This, however, changed with the advent of electronic amplification. Pesindhen now use microphones while the rest of the gamelan ensemble accompanies them (Sutton 1987, 111). 

Langgam Jawa songs were first played by kroncong ensembles that use stringed instruments, many of which were introduced to the archipelago by the Portuguese in the 16th century (Yampolsky 2013). The current ensemble includes such stringed instruments as a pair of ukulele-like instruments known as cuk and cak, guitar, flute, upright bass, a plucked cello known as a selo, and violin.[5] The associated repertoire of songs uses mostly Indonesian language and equal-tempered, diatonic tuning systems. Kroncong singers use a fairly heavy vibrato and a full, round timbre. Langgam Jawa emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s as a subrepertoire of kroncong, using pentatonic tuning systems from the gamelan and Javanese language. In the 1960s, langgam Jawa kroncong gained popularity, primarily through the careers of singers like Waldjinah and composers like Andjar Any.

Indonesia gained independence from Dutch colonization in 1945 after 350 years of colonial rule. Kroncong was not only part of the struggle for independence but was also used by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, as a political tool to build a sense of national unity once it was achieved (Skelchy 2015, 64). Nationalists like Armijn Pané believed kroncong was ideal for building a “modern, unified, and dynamic Indonesian culture” (Frederick 1997, 61). When langgam Jawa later emerged, it aligned with second president Suharto’s official policy towards culture, art, tradition, and national identity in that it manifested a regional form that was considered sufficiently “polished” (Larasati 2013, 6). Suharto believed that regional cultural values, in this instance the musical values of gamelan, could be “revitalized” or “preserved” through the arts in a way that was considered complementary to broader state aims of development (pembangunan) (Larasati 2013, 6). 

My dissertation research examines langgam Jawa across several genres heard in Central Java, particularly the genres of kroncong and gamelan. I was struck by the differences in the same song, such as “Yen Ing Tawang Ana Lintang” (“If There’s a Star in the Sky”), when performed across several genres. We can hear how the same song can be transformed through elements of timbre—timbre typically produced by women’s voices. Here, I highlight women’s involvement as their vocal labor and bodies were and continue to be center stage in the production and spread of this musical form.

My initial experiences attempting to sing this repertoire myself were in 2014 when I lived in Surakarta, Java for a year, studying Central Javanese music with the support of a Darmasiswa scholarship. One of the first obstacles for me were the retroflex consonants (dh or th for instance, not used by most English speakers) and the subtle variations of vowels in Javanese language. My tongue stumbled over the new shapes, often to the amusement of my teachers and fellow classmates. Finding my place with the accompanying ensemble was another challenge as I had to adjust my listening towards new sonic landmarks. Then came the issue of timbre: I learned that there were different expectations in terms of timbre, often specifically vibrato, based on whether I was singing with a kroncong ensemble or a gamelan group.[6] This is an aspect that I still struggle with and I continue to be amazed with the ability of singers from Central Java to code switch between genres, often even within the context of a single performance. Endah Laras, a singer experienced in both kroncong and gamelan, explains that in the context of gamelan, the style of singing should be restrained, more basic (dasar) because the singer needs to be balanced in with the other instrumentalists; it would be considered inappropriate for the singer to show off too much (Endah Laras, personal communication, October 10, 2019). When Endah Laras sings in a gamelan style, she uses subtle embellishments and a light vibrato. When she sings the same song in a kroncong style, she uses a fuller range of vocal embellishments and flourishes, luxuriating in a rich vibrato. Therefore, the same langgam Jawa song presented in the context of kroncong allows for more interpretation, and more vibrato (vibra).[7] The singer is highlighted, standing in the front, and invited to embellish and use sumptuous vibrato. 

The staged bodily comportment and movement used by singers also varies according to genre. Female kroncong singers stand center stage while performing, counter to the kneeling position and narrow bodily comportment used by pesindhen. Singer Sri Harjutri agrees, adding that kroncong singers can use movements that fit with the lyrics. For instance, while performing the song “Yen Ing Tawang Ana Lintang,” the singer might look up to the sky while raising their hand (Sri Harjutri, personal communication, September 1st, 2021).[8]

Langgam Jawa as played by kroncong ensembles reimagined the tuning systems and musical idioms of an older form, gamelan, in a way that could be considered complementary to the state’s goals of development. Langgam Jawa kroncong is associated with both national and Javanese identities as it blends elements of both gamelan and kroncong. For Surakarta-based singer Sujiati, “Langgam Jawa has a Javanese identity. However, because we present langgam Jawa with the packaging of instruments of the genre kroncong, it can be nationalized because kroncong versions of langgam Jawa can be received in a national way.” (Sujiati, personal communication, August 30th, 2021).[9] I find that langgam Jawa kroncong emerged as a way for women vocalists to reify a Javanese identity amidst nationalist efforts during the years immediately following Indonesian independence. As a blending of both gamelan and kroncong genres, along with corresponding expectations for gendered performances on stage, langgam Jawa kroncong affords a way for women to reassert themselves as Javanese in the context of nationalizing movements which continue today, presenting themselves, both musically and in terms of bodily comportment, in a manner that is legible as “Javanese'' within the context of Indonesian national identity. The singing style and timbre of langgam Jawa kroncong manifests a middle ground between the Javanese musical identity of gamelan and the more national musical identity of kroncong. The use of full vibrato and standing on stage incorporate elements of kroncong, while the use of pentatonic tuning systems and Javanese language embrace aspects of gamelan. Women’s vocal labor was, and continues to be, central to sonically bridging regional, Javanese identity and national, Indonesian identity. 

Recordings:

Ibu Sri Harjutri singing in a kroncong style

Ibu Sri Harjutri singing in the style of pesindhen

Notes:

References:

Eidsheim, Nina Sun. 2015. Sensing Sound: Singing and Listening as Vibrational Practice. Durham: Duke University Press.

Eidsheim, Nina Sun, and Katherine Meizel, eds. 2019. The Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gjerdingen, Robert O. and David Perrott. 2008. “Scanning the Dial: The Rapid Recognition of Music Genres.” Journal of New Music Research 37 (2): 93–100.

Larasati, Rachmi Diyah. 2013. The Dance That Makes You Vanish: Cultural Reconstruction in Post-Genocide Indonesia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Skelchy, Russell. 2015. “If There is a Star in the Sky: Waldjinah and Keroncong in Postcolonial Indonesia.” PhD diss., University of California, Riverside.

Sugiyanto, Danis. 2003. “Sumbangan Komponist Gesang Martohartono Terhadap Musik Indonesia.” Master’s thesis, Yogyakarta: Universities Gadjah Mada.

Sutton, Anderson. 1987. “Identity and Individuality in an Ensemble Tradition: The Female Vocalist in Java.” In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective, edited by Ellen Koskoff, 111-130. New York: Greenwood Press.

Yampolsky, Philip. 2010. "Kroncong Revisited: New Evidence from Old Sources." Archipel 79: 7-56. 

______. "Three Genres of Indonesian Popular Music: Genre, Hybridity, and Globalization, 1960-2012." Asian Music 44 (2): 24-80.