masterwordsmith-unplugged

Back in the 1960's, the strains of Bengawan Solo would occasionally fill the morning air at my grandmother's house. Our neighbour then was Encik Ibrahim who lived in a lovely modern Malay home with his family. Encik Ibrahim had a deep baritone voice and his eldest daughter, Faridah, spoke fluent English. That was how I learnt how to sing "Bengawan Solo" - by listening to Encik Ibrahim crooning the tune written by Gesang Martohartono, a folk music maestro and composer, who died yesterday after failing health since May 12. I felt much sadness when I read the news about his demise HERE in FMT. This post is dedicated to the memory of Gesang Marohartono and his music - may his soul rest in peace and his music live on forever!



Born in the central Javanese city of Surakarta (Solo) father owned a batik-fabric business, which however went bankrupt when Gesang was still in his teens, plunging the family into poverty. I was quite surprised to discover that Gesang was a self-taught musician who despite being illiterate in musical notation, supported himself and his family by writing songs and singing at local functions such as weddings and other formal occasions.

It was in 1940, during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II, that Gesang composed Bengawan Solo (using a flute) in keroncong style with Westernised vocal stylings, instrumental arrangements and melodies. Gesang turned to the city's river for inspiration to write the lyrics (CLICK HERE for the lyrics and translation).

According to Wikipedia:

The Bengawan Solo River is Java's longest river and most important waterway for trade and agriculture, and seemed to Gesang to symbolise the durability of Javanese culture in those troubled times.

Gesang added the song, Bengawan Solo, to his repertoire, and it soon became widely popular among the local Javanese community. The song rose to national prominence when recordings of it were aired on local radio stations. It also found an appreciative audience among the Japanese occupation forces, some of whom took to singing it with lyrics translated into Japanese. It was popular also among the non-Javanese prisoners (principally Dutch civilians) of the Japanese internment camps, many of whom also spoke Indonesian. The simple but nostalgic lyrics and popular-sounding melody held equal appeal to the long-standing resident and the homesick soldier.

As World War II drew to a close, the returning soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army brought the song back to Japan. In the dark period immediately after Japan's defeat, the song caught the public mood, and its fame soon spread throughout the country after best-selling recordings of it were released by popular singers, starting with Toshi Matsuda's 1947 recording. It was to be periodically re-released by various popular artists, and the song soon became almost synonymous in Japan with Indonesian music, many assuming that it was a centuries-old traditional song. Click HERE for more.

I am very inspired to read that he left his entire fortune of some twenty million dollars to the charity Music in Youth. He was a poor man when he composed Bengawan Solo and a rich man when he died but he never forgot the gift of music that the Almighty gave him that took him and his family out of poverty and with a heart of thanksgiving, he returned it to the YOUTH that they too may give to the world what he gave us. Thank you for the music, Gesang Martohartono.

Here's the YouTube clip of Gesang singing his Bengawan Solo.