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Gesang Martohartono (1 October 1917 – 20 May 2010) was an Indonesian singer-songwriter from central
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. He is the composer of the " Bengawan Solo," famous song throughout Indonesia, Japan, part of Asia, and some other countries. The song is almost synonymous with the ''
kroncong Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; , ) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ''kroncong''). A ''kroncong'' ...
'' style of Javanese music. Martohartono was most commonly known simply as Gesang. Gesang was born in
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
(Solo), Indonesia. His father owned a
batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...
-fabric business, which went bankrupt when Gesang was in his teens, plunging the family into poverty. Gesang, a self-taught musician who was illiterate in
musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...
, supported himself and his family by writing songs and singing at local functions such as weddings and other formal occasions.


Career

In 1940, just before the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the impoverished 23-year-old musician composed a tune (using a flute) in the popular urban local style known as ''
kroncong Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; , ) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ''kroncong''). A ''kroncong'' ...
'', a musical tradition of the region which combined Javanese
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
s with Westernised vocal stylings, instrumental arrangements, and
melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...
. The style had its origins in the 17th century Portuguese influence upon the region. For the
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
, Gesang turned to Surakarta's river for inspiration. The
Bengawan Solo River The Solo River (known in Indonesian as the Bengawan Solo, with ''Bengawan'' being an Old Javanese word for ''river'', and ''Solo'' derived from the old name for Surakarta) is the longest river in the Indonesian island of Java. It is approximately ...
is Java's longest and most important waterway for trade and agriculture. It seemed to Gesang to symbolise the durability of Javanese culture in those troubled times. Gesang himself would later remark "I had dreamt since my childhood about writing a song of praise for the immortal Solo River.""Bengawan Solo: immortal melody of Javanese river"
''Asian Economic News'', 1999-09-03
Gesang added " 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 among the non-Javanese prisoners (principally Dutch civilians) of the Japanese internment camps, many of whom spoke Indonesian. The simple, 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 The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
brought the song back to Japan. In the dark period immediately after Japan's defeat, "Bengawan Solo" caught the public mood. Its fame soon spread throughout the country after best-selling recordings were released by popular singers, starting with Toshi Matsuda's 1947 rendition. It was periodically re-released by popular artists, and the song soon became almost synonymous in Japan with
Indonesian music Indonesia is a country with many different Ethnic groups in Indonesia, tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result tr ...
, with many assuming that it was a centuries-old traditional song. Versions of "Bengawan Solo" were released in other Asian countries. It has since been reinterpreted many times by musical artists worldwide. Gesang remained in the city of his birth, continuing to compose and sing, his fame spreading through the decades. He came to be regarded as the leading exponent and senior figurehead of the Solonese ''kroncong'' style, which is now regarded as a respectable, even somewhat starchy and dated style, well and truly assimilated from its humble and scandalous prior associations. In 1991, a group of appreciative Japanese war veterans arranged for a life-size statue of Gesang to be erected in a
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
park, to mark their respects for the composer of the tune that had managed to cross the cultural barriers of wartime.


Death

From 12 May 2010 Gesang was hospitalized in a state of ill health. He was reported to be unconscious and was sent to Muhammadiyah Hospital's Intensive Care Unit in his hometown of Solo. He died from starvation and was already reported dead previously on 18 May 2010, but his family denied it. Gesang died 8 days later in the hospital, on 20 May 2010 at the age of 92. He left his entire fortune (of some $20 million) to the charity "Music in Youth".''Gesang Berpulang''
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References


External links


"Maestro Kroncong" Bio Gesang on Ensiklopedi Tokoh Indonesia
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martohartono, Gesang 1917 births 2010 deaths Indonesian composers 20th-century Indonesian male singers Indonesian songwriters Deaths by starvation Javanese people People from Surakarta