Indonesian Video Tape (9)
Music from Bali
9-1 “Selar jupun” - Gamelan from Bali – percussion ensemble; shows bonang, kenong, then gender barung, gong, kendang (horizontal drum); shows whole gamelan orchestra 9-2 ”Pendet” – devotional dance accompanied by gamelan; stylized dancing; more prominent use of wind instruments in this example 9-3 – “Baris” – warrior’s dance drill; notice how music follows dance movements (increase in activity, change in dynamics, accents dancer’s movements); use of ostinato; notice change of tempo; listen to drummer signal transitions to new musical sections; 9-4 “Lelong keraton” – court dance; stylized dance with expressive eye movements (female); listen for suling (flute) and sudden change of tempo 9-5 “Kebyar Trompong” – seated dance with gong set; notice hand gestures, facial expressions; performer also plays instrument; listen to easily identifiable phrase lengths; 9-6 “Calonarang” – dance drama; introduction by gamelan; then entrance of dancers (maidservants); entrance of Matah Gedé (Calonarang); story told through words/singing/dancing (similar to western opera); story revolves around an epidemic in the land and the battle between good and evil.
Indonesian Video Tape (10)
Bali
10-1 Kecak- kecak is a style of men’s chorus that involves theatrics. It is a relatively new art form, having been developed in the 1930’s. They use their voices to imitate the gamelan ensemble. Originally developed for exorcising demons, now more a tourist entertainment. The story line is from the Ramayana (a mythical text).
Java
10-2 Wayang – shadow puppet play. Often used to celebrate weddings; accompanied by full gamelan; wayang is a nine-hour performance; puppets on the puppeteer’s right represent “good” and those on the left represent “evil”. Puppeteer signals musical changes to the ensemble that correspond to action in the play. 10-3 Gamelan degung – gamelan degung is a small (gamelan) court ensemble; origins in west Java; gentler musical style (less raucous) than gamelan slendro; notice vocal quality of singers and use of vibrato 10-4 Tembang Sunda Cianjuran – song with instrumental ensemble; tembag means “poem” or “song”; this example is non-metric (no constant tempo); notice kacapi (zither with metal strings) played with fingernails (on each side of stage.
10-5 “Mundinglaya Dikusumah” in Pantun style – pantun is the narrative recitation of ancient epic poems from the Mahabharata or Ramayana. Pantun is normally performed with kacapi accompaniment. 10-6 “Papatet” - Tembang Sunda Cianjuran (Sunda poem/song from Cianjuran region)– song with instrumental ensemble. Kacapi plays opening section, then non-metered section (with singing) begins; notice how flute (suling) follows the voice (heterophony) 10-7 “Kidung” - Tarawangsa [bowed lute] and kacapi siter (portable box shaped zither) performance. Tarawangsa has “drone” string that is plucked while bowing the other string bows the melody. 10-8 “Tablo” - Celempungan is the name of this type of ensemble that includes the bamboo zither known as celempungan (not shown here). This ensemble includes the kacapi (zither), singer (pesinden), rebab (bowed lute) and kenda (horizontal drum). Played are religious and civil ceremonies. Repertoire is derived from gamelan repertoire.