Interpretation: Sariak Laweh, July 25, 2016
Type of Song: The following chart analyzes the overall performance time, including breaks. All the main types of dendang are indicated, but the songs which are adopted from saluang dangdut or other forms of popular music are all grouped together as"other" on this chart. At this performance significantly more time was spent on upbeat material than at saluang performances featuring just saluang klasik. In other words, the incorporation of saluang orgen as a style ensured that there was an emphasis on the gembira category of dendang, as the incorporation of synthesizer and its rhythmic programming only works with a steady beat, which is of the gembira category. All dendang performed in saluang orgen style were gembira, which accounted for 65% of all gembira songs, while those in saluang klasik were 28%. The remaining 7% were dendang gembira performed without any saluang accompaniment, adopted to the orgen repertoire: these were "Lubuak Aluang," "Sungai Pua Manurun" and "Tangkerang."
The emphasis on gembira songs meant a subsequent de-emphasis on ratok and satangah tiang categories, neither of which have a steady beat and thus are unsuited to synthesizer accompaniment. Ratok only took 14% of the overall performance, compared with 47% of the time at the performance at Suayan a few days later.
Breaks: It is significant that there was only one official break at this performance and it happened at 2 a.m., leaving just 30+ minutes of performance before wrapping up. The conventional break at midnight was skipped because there was orgen. Orgen could take over, thus giving the tukang saluang the necessary rest.
Padendang: This performance was the only event out of six I attended that summer that had more than two padendang. Pak Ketua and I had met with and interviewed Te E earlier that day, who told us about the performance later that night. When I met with her, she was not anticipating the presence of orgen nor that of Ika: it was as much a surprise to her as it was to Pak Ketua and I when we arrived. It seemed the committee in charge of arranging entertainment has booked the tukang orgen and Ika in addition to Te E and her group. Te E was not happy about it.
I knew from previous conversations with Te E, including the interview earlier that day, that she was disdainful of the developments that incorporated synthesizer into saluang. Like Mak Sawir, she thought it and some of the accompanying behaviors sullied saluang, that Minangkabau values were lost in the process (interview, July 25, 2016). If she had known about the presence of orgen in advance, she would have declined the invitation. Instead, she had to fulfill her contract, appearing to be polite and participate while nursing contrary feelings. At one point in the performance, during the orgen sequence, she left the stage and came sat with Pak Ketua and I. Typically, padendang do not leave the stage during the entirety of a performance, generally not even to go to the toilet.
Te E, then, declined to sing on a number of songs, including a number of songs performed in the saluang orgen style and all the songs performed with just orgen accompaniment--Ika was the only singer who performed during those. Te E took the lead on most of the songs from the saluang klasik repertoire, especially the ratok and satangah tiang, her speciality. She participated in the songs accompanied by saluang orgen only if the material was from the standard saluang repertoire. It seems that when the repertoire originated with saluang dangdut, she declined to participate. This was subtle commentary on the nature of aesthetic shifts.
Si Sri, in contrast, participated on all the saluang klasik songs and all the saluang orgen tunes, taking lead on most of those. She did not participate on the orgen tunes. When I interviewed her, she said she preferred the klasik repertoire, but didn't have a problem participating in saluang orgen if necessary. Unlike Te E, she didn't decline those invitations. The difference in approach might be explained by their age difference: Te E is Si Sri's senior by 27 years.
Because Ika covered all the orgen repertoire, she sang on more individual songs than Te E, the star singer, even though she might best be described as a padendang in training, still learning and mastering the repertoire. The only songs she did not sing on were the more difficult ratok, including "Kamang Patah Tigo," "Kambang Aia Aji" and "Koto Tuo Patah Pucuak." Otherwise, she sang at least one pantun on all the other saluang klasik songs.