Center stage: Aning Katamsi performs during Paragita's ‘‘Linimasa 35’’ concert. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)

The University of Indonesia’s Paragita student choir invited audience on a journey through time for its “Linimasa 35” anniversary concert.

The concert, which took place at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Theater in Central Jakarta on Aug. 18, celebrated the choir’s 35th anniversary.

Linimasa 35 committee leader Yanawati Sinaga said the choir members had observed how recent social and political developments had been dividing Indonesians and wanted to unite people again through the instrument they knew best — music.

“Indonesian musicians are always creating something new and they are all diverse [in terms of musical styles],” Yanawati said.

The concert featured both current members and alumni from all of Paragita’s 35 batches since it was established in 1983. The “Linimasa 35” concert featured a total of 248 singers, with vocal instructor Aning Katamsi saying the diversity of voices from each batch was remarkable and was the main highlight.

“For me, the combination of fresh voices from the younger singers and the mature voices of the older ones is what made this concert so colorfully rich,” said Aning.

The choir also experimented by delivering its performance in a musical theatre style for the first time. Using this conceptual style, the choir sang each song with different stage settings, multimedia effects, lighting routines and with theatrical acting.

As the concert started, a video, projected through a transparent screen, greeted the audience, depicting a woman surfing through radio channels. As she pressed one of the buttons, she heard the voice of Feni Rose, a prominent presenter who was also the narrator throughout the concert.

The screen slowly rose to reveal the singers, all dressed in white attire. Accompanied by melodious orchestral music, they soothingly hummed a short medley of songs from the set list before the stage faded to black.

The audience was then taken back in time to the 1950s, with eight singers performing Ismail Marzuki’s “Layang-Layang” (Kites).

As the song built to its chorus, a number of dancers entered the stage playfully holding colorful kites. Then the light blue color emanating from six thin, long cloths hanging from the sides of the stage turned dark when a rendition was begun of Mochtar Embut song of admiration “Di Wajahmu Kulihat Bulan” (I Saw a Moon on Your Face).

The choir then moved on into the 1960s with soloists Daniel Sinaga, Priska Hutabarat, Tetty Manurung and Aning performing a medley of songs made famous through the legendary Bintang Radio and Television competition. For a moment, the atmosphere was like a night at the opera, with each soloist delivering their performances with elegant and operatic vocals.

The choir then paid tribute to the 1970s Indonesian rock scene by having the Paragita soloists perform new renditions of “Kisah Sedih di Hari Minggu” (Sad Story on a Sunday) from legendary pop-rock band Koes Plus and “Panggung Sandiwara” (Play Stage) from one Indonesia’s most celebrated rock groups, God Bless.

The soloists, led by Fachryal Hitansyah, gave an intense and lively performance of “Kisah Sedih di Hari Minggu”, which recounts a failed relationship, and “Panggung Sandiwara”, which speaks to the fakeness people display as they go about their everyday lives.

After rock became mainstream in 1970s Indonesia, the next decade was all about pop music. During the 1980s, two song composition competitions — Lomba Cipta Lagu Remaja (Teen Song Composition Competition) and Festival Lagu Populer Indonesia (Indonesian Pop Song Festival) — gave birth to some of the country’s best pop song composers.

Paragita paid homage to these competitions by performing a medley of winning songs, from James F. Sundah’s “Lilin-Lilin Kecil” (Little Candles) to Harvey Malaiholo’s upbeat pop hit “Pesta” (Party).

The most senior Paragita alumni, members of the class of 1983 to 1989, also got their moment to shine, performing compositions by Rinto Harahap. Complemented by soloists Choky Simanjuntak, Joyce Sopacua, Mariaty Sitorus and Tetty Manurung, their mature and pleasant vocals resonated throughout the theater as they sang “Jangan Sampai Berpisah” (Let’s Not Separate), “Gelas-Gelas Kaca” (Glasses), “Aku Begini Engkau Begitu” (I’m This and You’re That), “Katakan Sejujurnya” (Say Honestly) and “Ayah” (Father).

This set list held a special meaning for the singers, bringing back nostalgic memories. Sutji Lantyka, one of the singers from Paragita’s 1989 batch, for example, said “Ayah” was the most emotional number on the set list for her.

“We can connect with the songs because they were popular during my era, and some of my friends have already lost their parents, so when we sang ‘Ayah’, a lot of them were in tears,” said Sutji, who continues to sing as part of the Paragita alumni choir, the Adhisvara Choir (ASC).

In addition to pop and rock, the choir also tackled a host of other musical genres.

The sultry jazz tunes of Andi Mapajalos’ “Kasih” (Love) and “Jerat” (Trap) as well as Andre Hehanusa’s “Arti Kehidupan” (Meaning of Life) and “Ceria” (Cheerful) were delivered with passion by the 1990s batch.

The choir also brought the groove with a medley of popular dangdut tunes, including Ellya Khadam’s “Boneka India” (Indian Doll) and Rhoma Irama’s “Jatuh Bangun” (Ups and Downs).

The nostalgic songs of the 1950s to 1980s formed the first act of the concert and after a 15 minute, the choir returned for the second act, which was packed with more contemporary songs, from the late ‘1990s onward.

The second act featured songs made famous by 1990s boybands, girlbands and other artists, including home-grown pop sensations Anggun and Agnes “Agnezmo” Monica.

The concert came to a close with a spectacular medley of songs by composer Guruh Soekarnoputra, including “Zamrud Khatulistiwa” (Jade of the Equator), “Mahadaya Cinta” (The Power of Love), “Indonesia Jiwaku” (Indonesia My Soul) and “Melati Suci” (Sacred Jasmine).

The fact the concert was a sellout, with all 1,200 tickets snapped up, showed just how eager the audience was to watch Paragita’s anniversary concert.

One audience member, Janu from Jakarta, said Paragita presented a history of the Indonesian music industry during the concert.

“The concert was truly worth it, it was really good,” said Janu. “We were spoiled again and again.”

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

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