Concert review: Orkestra Melayu Singapura’s night of keroncong tunes was music to the ears

Simfoni Keroncong Nusantara

Orkestra Melayu Singapura
Esplanade Concert Hall
Friday, 8pm

Part of the Esplanade’s Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts, Simfoni Keroncong Nusantara was a veritable showcase of keroncong, a popular musical art form unique to the Malay Archipelago.

The name keroncong is onomatopoeic, derived from the strumming sounds of a ukulele-like instrument that originally accompanied its earliest singers. 

Its origins date from 16th-century Java when freed Portuguese slaves or Mardijkers intermarried with locals, creating this art of singing which shares spiritual and inspirational links with Portuguese Fado music.

Its history was briefly dealt with at the beginning of the concert by Indonesian singer Andre Michiels, himself a Mardijker descendent, and his trusty ukulele.   

Led by conductor Amri Amin, Orkestra Melayu Singapura (OMS) on this evening comprised mostly Western instruments (violins, cellos, bass, ukulele, guitar, piano and assorted winds, including flutes and horns) and percussion with drum-set.

Accompanying singers from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the keroncong numbers ranged from insouciant crooning to full-power vocals. 

Common to these songs was a sense of melancholy, with reflection and introspection overshadowing outright joy and exultation. Providing a diversion was a virtuoso solo role for Indonesian violinist Liliek Jasqee, whose Stephane Grappelli-like improvisations were an added delight.

Presenting completely in Malay, both hosts – jazz singer Rudy Djoe and television personality Marina Yusoff – were an amiable and engaging presence throughout.

OMS had its own trio of young singers – Hafiz, Sheera and Umairah, who starred in Keroncong Tiga Kota, a song that celebrated the three cities of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Of the invited singers, both Singaporean Suryana Norddin and Malaysian Jamilah Abu Bakar impressed in their songs – Suryana in Sayang Di Sayang (made famous by the late “Queen of Keroncong” Kartina Dahari) and Jampi; and Jamilah in Alunan Biola and the feline-inspired Aksi Kucing, complete with vocalised mews from both orchestra and audience.

Keroncong veterans also had a field day. Dato Yusni Hamid from Malaysia, despite being in her 70s, rolled back the years in her signature song Kau Yang Ku Nanti.

Eddy Ali flexed his mellow vocal apparatus for Nasib Malang and Bunga Melor, but the loudest cheers were reserved for Emilia Contessa, whose deeply resounding alto voice, once heard, is unlikely to be forgotten. 

Her songs included a medley from Akhir Sebuah Impian (the tragic 1973 Indonesian movie she starred in as a mere teenager), Anggin November and Setangkai Anggerek, a duet with the overmatched Eddy. Nothing she sang was not deeply felt, and that is star quality indeed. 

The concert without intermission overshot its 90 minutes by another 50, but because it got better with each song, nobody left his seat.

But it had to end at some point, and it did with the soloists returning with the evergreen Bengawan Solo and possibly the all-time favourite Malay song, Rasa Sayang.

The spontaneous standing ovation said it all – the allure of keroncong is not diminishing any time soon.