Gending Karesmen: Musical Communication in Folk Theatre

Gending karesmen or drama swara is a term used to refer to a type of Sundanese traditional folk theatre. Music is the dominating text in the performance process. Music is not just an accompaniment, but an inseparable part. The characteristic of gending karesmen is that all dialogue is sung using melodies. This research focuses on one title of gending karesmen to be reread. The gending karesmen is titled Si Kabayan Jeung Raja Jimbul. The script of the gending karesmen was composed by Sundanese writer Wahyu Wibisana. The music, meanwhile, was composed by Mang Koko. Qualitative data were collected through several techniques, namely observation, interview, and literature study. The data were analysed through content analysis techniques. The researcher focused on reading one recording of the gending karesmen performance obtained from Engkos Warnika as the director of this gending karesmen. There are several types of musical communication that occur in gending karesmen performances. First, the song as a medium of dialogue between the performers. Second, gending (music) is multifunctional: as atmosphere illustration, sound effect, and independent presenter. Third, the music responds to other text elements (space, movement, script, and audience). The three musical communications that occur have a foothold in determining the musical arrangement. Mang Koko, as a music composer, has his own process to concoct sounds based on the existing script.