Indonesian ♥

Song title	Sekar Mijil, Kidung Pangarih-arih – Adedhasar Kadhewatan
Composer	N.N. 18th Century
Scale	Pelog, Patet Barang
Genre	Javanese Poetry
About	A Javanese macapat about a mother's love to her child. The song is a kind of a love spell sung into a lullaby consisting part lyrics and part mantra/spells. A parent's prayer that will make their child would grow full of love.
Country	Indonesia, Central Java
Language	Old Javanese
Sung by	Ramadayapati
Recorded by	Aniza Santo
Place & year of recording	Jakarta, Indonesia, 2012
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Song title	Pangkur Asmara Abimanyu Utari (taken from Javanese Dance Opera / Playwright “Abimanyu Gugur” by Retno Maruti, 1976)
Composer	N.N. 18th-19th Century. Recomposed by Retno Maruti (Lyrics)
Scale	Pelog, Patet Barang
Genre	Palaran
About	This song is an everlasting love statement from Prince Abimanyu to Utari. He's saying that he promise to love her with all of his heart and soul and that if he lies he will die a terrible death. Eventually he did... apparently he had a wife before but just fell so much in love with Utari that he made this promise... ending in death.
Country	Indonesia, Central Java
Language	Mid-Javanese, Krama Inggil
Sung by	Ramadayapati
Recorded by	Aniza Santo
Place & year of recording	Recording in the garden, under the full moon. Jakarta, Indonesia, 2012
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Song title	Dhandanggula Kusumasih (Taken from serat Langendriyan, scene Damarwulan Ngarit by Mangkunegaran ,19th century)
Composer	N.N. Recomposed by Wahyu Santosa Prabawa
Scale	Laras Pelog, Patet Barang
Genre	Palaran
About	This song is a conversation between two royal lovers Damar Wulan and princess Anjasmara. The country is at war and Damar Wulan has to fight so he sings her a song asking her to release him if death comes for him. Basically he knows he will die and he knows Anjasmara is a strong woman but he felt the need to express his love to her for the last time. In the end.... he died in the battle field.
Country	Indonesia, Central Java
Language	Mid-Javanese, Krama Inggil
Sung by	Ramadayapati
Recorded by	Aniza Santo
Place & year of recording	Recording in the garden, under the full moon. Jakarta, Indonesia, 2012
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Song title	Wuyung
Composer	Ismanto
Scale	Laras Pelog, Patet Barang
Genre	Javanese Langgam / Javanese Medley
About	Wuyung basically means falling in love. This music describe a state of yearning, longing to a point of endless pain because of being in love. The song starts with : "lara ning lara " which means pain of pains, one of the emotion within this song that is difficult to express because most of the javanese phrase hold so many symbols & 'emotional depth' that will make it impossible to translate... one must ' feel' to understand.
Country	Indonesia, Central Java
Language	Modern Javanese, Krama Madya-Ngoko
Sung by	Ramadayapati
Recorded by	Aniza Santo
Place & year of recording	Recording in the garden, under the full moon. Jakarta, Indonesia, 2012
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Background information for the songs, kindly provided by Ramadayapati

For the language, horizontally, regards to their era, javanese language divided into three big era, old javanese (17-18th century), mid javanese (18-mid20th) and modern javanese (mid20th-present). After the midjavanese era, the bards creates several different strata, vertically regards to the social status. Most of the poems been created with the highest language strata called "Krama Inggil" , the middle language called "Krama Madya" and the daily language called “ngoko”.
We could classify Wuyung by Ismanto as a javanese modern pop song, so the composer using more krama madya and lil bit ngoko rather than krama inggil.

For the Composer, Pangkur, Mijil, and Dhandanggula are the javanese poems created by the bards in unknown era. Its classified as Tembang Cilik/Sekar Alit, but Mijil is more known as part of Tembang Gede, poems/phrase that created as the mother phrase of the javanese poems nowadays.
Basically this type of phrase has a standard regards to the number of rows and syllables on their each verse.
Example,

Mijil
Isik imong anakke si kaki (10i)
Kidang wulung calon (6o)
Putune Ki Harimong sakiye, (10e)
Gumalundung lir padas selardi, (10i)
Rupanira kadi, (6i)
Bugel kayu sempu. (6u)

In Mijil there should be always 6 rows in one verse, the first row should consist for 10 syllables ended with vocal ‘i’, second row should consist of 6 syllables and ended with vocal ‘o’, and so on. The ending syllable not has to be vocal but it could be ended with closed syllable as well as long the vocal remain the same. In every of those single poems usually has an ambience that get along within. There are 9 different verse in Sekar Alit, begin with Mijil and ended with Pucung.

The 9 numbers symbolized human holes by lusts, and defined human journey from the birth to death. Mijil, literally means ‘out’, describing a new baby born, so the ambience should be holy, innocent spirits, happiness and joy. Pucung, literally means 'wrap in shroud'. In muslim ritual, the corpse should be shrouded before getting buried, so its capturing the end of human journey.

Pangkur and Dhandanggula describing about the life journey itself after humans being settled and married. Pangkur derived from ‘mungkur’, which means betrayal . Dhandanggula derived from two words, Dhandang means bitter and Gula means sugar/sweet, so its showing bitterness and sweetness in life. The ambience of those two verse are clearly explained in our songs. Based on those rules and standard, the nowadays composers / bards are feel free to rearrange or recomposed the lyrics, as long they follow the basic stipulation.

In javanese,almost all of the their life scene been always framed with love. Pangarih means concede, in terms of conceding the love. Asmara means romance, even there's a hidden betrayal after. Kusumasih derived from two words, Kusuma and Asih. Kusuma means flower, defined by the lover. and Asih literally means caring.

Ramadayapati, Jakarta, Indonesia, November, 2012