The East-West Center Arts Program in Exhibition: February 2—May 17, 2020 cooperation with the University of Hawai‘i East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Music Department presents Curators: Annie Reynolds, Kirk Sullivan, Eric Chang Musical Instruments Consultants: Ricardo D. Trimillos, Lynn Martin, Michael Schuster Sounds of the Installation Design: Lynne Najita Asia Pacific herself surrounded by musical cultures from across Asia and the Pacific. Her exploration into those musics led her to begin acquiring instruments from non-Western musical traditions and establish a graduate program in Ethnomusicology in 1960. By 1970, the instrument collection had become so large that a catalog of instruments was established. Through the years, instruments have been donated by ethnomusicologists, graduate students who traveled to carry out studies and fieldwork, visiting performers who preferred to leave their instruments rather than ship them home, and others who have donated family heirlooms. The East-West Center has showcased many of the Music Department’s Asia Pacific ensembles and performers from the region. Many of the instruments displayed reflect performances presented by EWC or locally-based ensembles. Others Zakir Hussain performs Indian tabla presented by EWC, 2019. Photographer: Eric Chang. Instrument above: sitar, India are highlighted as unique and notable for their beautiful craftsmanship, history, or an his exhibition features Asia Pacific collection are used in the various musical interesting element of charm or surprise. T musical instruments from the Ethno - ensembles at the university including This exhibition also features musicology Instrument Collection at the Indonesian gamelan (traditional ensemble costumes, masks, other performing University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Music comprised primarily of metallophones arts materials, photographs, sound Department. The collection has been and gongs) and Japanese gagaku examples, and video to assist in acquired over the past 70 years, initially (ancient court music), as well as understanding the fuller cultural context established by Professor Barbara B. Hawaiian and Tahitian dance, koto of the instruments. Music in the Asia Smith, and continues today under the (Japanese zither), Chinese, Korean, Pacific region is closely associated supervision of Professor Ricardo D. Okinawan, and Philippine ensembles. with dance, theatre, and/or other Trimillos. This collection is an invaluable The collection is comprised of nearly cultural practices and this exhibition resource for the community because 2,500 instruments from across the globe. underscores these relationships. the instruments are meant to be utilized Professor Barbara Smith first came The instruments are displayed in rather than to be displayed as museum to Hawai‘i in 1949 intending to teach three sections: Pacific Islands, East pieces. Many of the instruments in the Western classical music but found Asia, and South & Southeast Asia. East Asia This exhibition features instruments from China, Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. Much of the music of East Asia is associated with highly-stylized theatrical traditions. Some music has its roots in royal courts while other music accompanies communal dances. The Chinese yangqin, also known as the “butterfly harp,” is played with two small Kumu hula sisters Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele and Nalani Kanaka‘ole. Photographer: Lynn Martin. elongated hammers, like the hammer Photo courtesy of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Hawai‘i State Archives dulcimer. The music of the butterfly harp accompanies vocal music, chamber REGIONS music, and various Chinese theatre traditions. The Korean changgo is a Pacific Islands double-headed hourglass-shaped drum The Hawaiian that is used in various performance This exhibition features pahu drum commonly genres. In some traditional styles, instruments from accompanies the the dancers themselves drum while Aotearoa (New most sacred mele dancing. The buk drum is used Zealand), Australia, hula dances to accompany unique p’ansori dramatic Cook Islands, Hawai‘i, in Hawaiian epic storytelling performances. Papua New Guinea, performances. In Japan the taiko drums Solomon Islands, Tahiti, The pahu are used for a wide variety of and Vanuatu. The Pacific is a single- performances, from traditional Islands, headed kabuki theatre to energetic as linked drum choreographed stage shows regionally, and the to accompaniment for communal, are drum- seasonal bon odori festival dances. comprised head on The sanshin is a plucked three- of diverse the pahu featured in string lute and is the iconic island this exhibition is made instrument of Okinawan nations of of sharkskin. In Tahitian performance traditions. great cultural music the to‘ere is the Musicians often play the variety that finely-crafted slit log sanshin to accompany span a vast drum made from hollowed themselves in song. geographical area. out branches or tree trunks. The The instruments tend The to‘ere is primarily used to body to be made of natural accompany dance but secondarily of the materials such as wood, used to call meetings in the Okinawan bamboo, gourds, seeds, community. Panpipes are sanshin is shells, and various iconic to the Solomon Islands. covered with animal skins. Voice and Panpipes are commonly made of snakeskin. rhythm are essential bamboo and range in various sizes. to music of the Pacific Some are blown into to produce Instruments Islands and in many sound; larger ones are struck on clockwise from far left: contexts the music’s one open end, using materials such kundu drum, Papua New Guinea; primary function is to as rubber slippers as mallets to pahu drum, Hawai‘i; sogo drum, Korea; accompany dance. create a unique sound. sanshin, Okinawa South & Southeast Asia This exhibition features instruments from Burma (Myanmar), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Across the Southeast Asia region there are various ensembles that are comprised of tuned bronze kettles and various-sized gongs. There is a similarity in instrument form and their geographic distribution is linked with waterways and trade routes. Yet, the context and function of these instruments vary widely from one cultural context to another. Some performances are based in localized animist beliefs or in historical Hindu royal courts while others are based in Islamic culture. The Javanese gamelan ensemble from Indonesia was acquired for the collection in 1970. While the entire The Family Camarillo Rondalla. Photographer: Tibor Franyo. Photo courtesy of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts set consists of over thirty and Hawai‘i State Archives. Instruments below, left to right: gabbang, Philippines; sapeh, Malaysia instruments, only the gender (metal- associated lophone) and kendang with a mood, (double-headed drum) are time of day, season, displayed in this exhibition. and color. The gender ornaments the This exhibition central melody and the musicians play features a beautifully hand- with two mallets, one in each hand in a crafted sitar which is a large refined technique that involves damping stringed instrument that the sound with the side of the hand as plays ornamented melodies the next bar is struck. The kendang dramatic cues when accompanying in Hindustani music. There player is the leader of the gamelan dance or shadow puppetry performances. are seven primary strings ensemble, signaling tempo and dynamic The musics of India reflect the that are plucked while the changes. The kendang player follows the incredible diversity of the country, sympathetic strings, which ranging from classical to folk traditions. are never touched, resonate Classical music in India is highly to add a richness to the complex. Classical music of Northern sound. The sitar is commonly India is called Hindustani music while combined with the tabla classical music of Southern India is drum pair which provides called Carnatic music. The two primary the rhythm. In training, components of Hindustani music are the tabla rhythms are the raga (melodic system) and the tala vocalized prior to being (rhythmic system). Raga do not just applied to the instrument. specify a scale of notes but often are The tabla are capable of complex rhythms with an extensive vocabulary of striking techniques with individual fingers. Representing folk traditions, the Chhau drum is played to accompany masked dance performances of eastern India. The masks and drums featured in this exhibition were donated to the collection following a Masatoshi Shamoto, Gagakucho for the Hawai‘i Gagaku performance at the Kenkyukai, plays ryuteki, bamboo transverse flute. Photographer: Tibor Franyo. Photo courtesy of the State East-West Center in Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Hawai‘i State Archives. Instrument: yangqin or “butterfly harp,” China the 1980s. The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the U.S. government, and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region. A Korean farmer’s dance performed at the 1993 Waipahu