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Voices of Langgam Jawa: Gender, Genre, and Repertoire in Javanese Popular Music

Standiford, Hannah (2024) Voices of Langgam Jawa: Gender, Genre, and Repertoire in Javanese Popular Music. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This dissertation is the first to investigate the performance style, cultural politics, and social meanings of a repertoire of songs called langgam Jawa (lit. “Javanese style”) in Central Java, Indonesia. These Javanese-language songs are constructed in a 32-bar AA’BA’ form and either imitate or directly use patterns and instruments from central Javanese gamelan. Langgam Jawa is performed in three genres, namely kroncong, campur sari, and gamelan, and women are most often featured as singers regardless of the genre. Women are largely responsible for maintaining the identity and status of pieces in langgam Jawa and, in turn, women shape the boundaries of these genres in their performances. Langgam Jawa takes on different meanings depending on the social context, which is related to but distinct from genre, in which it is performed. Musicians use sophisticated and subtle ways to elaborate what is typically a 32-bar structure and the form is equally malleable in adjusting to various social contexts. Developed in the late 1950s in the context of kroncong, langgam Jawa was considered a genre (langgam Jawa kroncong). However, musicians quickly began adapting songs to different genres, and by the early 1990s, it was considered a repertoire. I show the way that repertoires and genres are co-constitutive: a repertoire of songs forms the musical identity of a genre as much as genres shape the socio-cultural meaning of particular songs.

Drawing on ethnographic, historical, and music-analytical research in Central Java between 2014-2023, I detail four case studies regarding langgam Jawa. I attribute the durability of langgam Jawa to three factors: (1) the ingenuity of performers in reforming and repurposing this song form in different social contexts, particularly women singers who are able to cross genres; (2)the evocative power of nostalgia of langgam Jawa for Javanese listeners, whether a nostalgiafor earlier years in the listener’s own life or an idyllic past that urban listeners never experienced directly; and (3) the transition of langgam Jawa from a genre in the context of kroncong to a repertoire that is played in the contexts of kroncong, gamelan, and campur sari.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Standiford, Hannahhms76@pitt.eduhms760000-0003-0809-8789
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairWeintraub, Andrewanwein@pitt.edu
Committee MemberWang, Dandanwang@pitt.edu
Committee MemberHelbig, Adrianaanh59@pitt.edu
Committee MemberConstable, Nicolencgrad@pitt.edu
Date: 19 November 2024
Date Type: Submission
Defense Date: 30 October 2024
Approval Date: 20 December 2024
Submission Date: 21 November 2024
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 231
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: No
Uncontrolled Keywords: Indonesia, ethnomusicology, Java, weddings, music & politics
Additional Information: Minor changes to title, abstract, and the defense date were made by the author and approved by the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
Date Deposited: 20 Dec 2024 14:49
Last Modified: 06 Jan 2025 16:55
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/47177

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